Róisín Murphy says she’ll ‘never be the same again’ after backlash to ‘transphobic’ comments

Róisín Murphy is a dance music icon, a legend in the club. She made a name for herself in Moloko – and if you’re a casual music listener and her name doesn’t ring many bells, one listen of The Time is Now by the band would quickly remind you of who Murphy is and her legacy in the culture. The Irish artist has an acclaimed solo career and has made some of the best dance music to soundtrack your most hedonistic queer club night, and I’ve seen her live twice. Everything changed in 2023 however, and when Roisin Murphy was getting acclaim for her new album The Hit Parade, being regarded as her best yet, she made comments on puberty blockers that were deemed ‘transphobic’. Now, Róisín Murphy is speaking out against the backlash to her ‘transphobic’ comments in a hefty post on Twitter – and things aren’t going down too well.

Róisín’s original comments were quickly criticised

The Hit Parade, Murphy’s 2023 album

In the lead up to the release of The Hit Parade in 2023, Róisín shared a post of anti-transgender campaigner Graham Linehan – where she said that “big Pharma” was handing puberty blockers to “mixed-up kids” and called the hormones “f*cked”. After backlash, Róisín was criticised for spreading misinformation and accused of being transphobic. It was especially hurtful to her LGBTQ+ fans – me included – who always had Murphy perform in our spaces and queer festivals.

Róisín Murphy said she was sorry for any hurt caused – but didn’t take back her comments. She said they were made “out of concern for us all”. She said she would “bow out of this conversation”, but she just stopped bowing out.

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Two years on, she’s posted about it again

When The Hit Parade came out, it got acclaim but a lot of reviewers highlighted the controversy inside the review. The Guardian gave Murphy five stars for her album, but said it was “masterful with an ugly stain”.

In a new statement, Róisín writes: “My album came out two years ago today, in the middle of a controversy. Having been told previously by music journalists that it was already ‘album of the year’, when the controversy broke I was instructed by the same people to admit ‘ignorance’ and apologise or face a drop in scores.

“These messages were passed on to me by my then record label, Ninja Tune. I have the receipts. This is not journalism or criticism, it’s authoritarianism. The record did indeed suffer revised scores across the board and was left off the end-of-year lists.

“It wasn’t just upsetting but also very frightening to see how the whole of the music media, in tandem, were able and willing to punish a work of art for the sake of activism. To say I’ll never be the same again is an understatement. Props to The Guardian for not changing the five-star score. But the piece itself is rotten to the core and the record was never again mentioned by them. I really hope one day that changes.”

The replies to this are filled with the “gender-critical” and those who oppose trans rights and activism. It’s also full of queer people understandably hurt by the doubling down.

Well, those reports were unconfirmed by the label. They have made no official statement whatsoever and they are not intending to donate proceeds from the record to charity. I checked!

— Róisín Murphy (@roisinmurphy) September 8, 2023

Graham Linehan is currently supporting Róisín Murphy in her latest backlash saga on Twitter – to which she replied and said “thanks Big G.”

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