Carlos Santana issued an apology over anti-trans comments he made during a July show in Atlantic City. However, it appears he has now deleted his apology.
The guitarist’s remarks surfaced via a fan-shot video. He said, “When God made you and me, before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are. Later on, when you grow out of it, you see things, and you start believing that you could be something that…it sounds good, but you know it ain’t right.”
He continued, “Because a woman is a woman and a man is a man. That’s it. Whatever you wanna do in the closet, that’s your business. I’m OK with that.” Santana then referenced his “brother” Dave Chappelle, who’s been at odds with the transgendered community for years, and indicated he and the comedian agree.
These comments understandably received a lot of attention in the press. This led to Santana to take to Facebook to issue an apology on Thursday (August 24). Today (August 25), that apology has since been deleted.
Per Ultimate Classic Rock, Santana’s apology read, “I am sorry for my insensitive comments. They don’t reflect that I want to honor and respect all person’s ideals and beliefs. I realize that what I said hurt people, and that was not my intent. I sincerely apologize to the transgender community and everyone I offended.”
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He continued, “Here is my personal goal that I strive to achieve every day. I want to honor and respect all person’s ideals and beliefs whether they are LGBTQ or not. This is the planet of free will and we have all been given this gift. I will now pursue this goal to be happy and have fun, and for everyone to believe what they want and follow in your hearts without fear.”
Santana concluded, “It takes courage to grow and glow in the light that you are and to be true, genuine, and authentic. We grow and learn to shine our light with love and compliments. Have a glorious existence. Peace.”
The guitar icon is far from the first rock star as of late to make inaccurate comments about the trans community. Alice Cooper also made questionable comments this week to Stereogum about transgendered people and gender-affirming care for trans minors. Dee Snider has also made controversial comments about gender-affirming care.
Most notably, Paul Stanley made comments about gender-affirming care in April. A breakdown of his comments and their inaccuracies are below.