Right-wing and tabloid media fabricated an entire news cycle of anti-trans outrage after Adele said that she “loves being a woman” at the BRIT Awards ceremony. Adele delivered the remarks in a speech accepting the “artist of the year” award, saying in reference to the gender-neutral category of the award that “I understand why the name of this award has changed but I really love being a woman and being a female artist. I do, I do! I’m really proud of us, I really, really am.”
Adele’s remarks at the award ceremony were portrayed as causing “outrage” and backlash on the internet by numerous outlets, including the New York Post, Page Six, the Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire, the Daily Mail, Fox News website, The Spectator, and Newsmax. At least two shows on Fox News ran segments on the supposed controversy, saying that critics had “attacked” and “slammed” Adele -- without citing a single source.
As the story picked up steam, it was covered on Spotify’s The Joe Rogan Experience, where Rogan used the story to rant about “the they/them people” to his reported audience of 11 million listeners.
Right-wing media are also comparing Adele with actual anti-trans celebrities like comedian Dave Chappelle and author J.K. Rowling. Anti-trans activist Kara Dansky tweeted a link to a Newsweek article on the topic, writing, “Go TERF Island!” (TERF is an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist.)
There appears to be no evidence that Adele holds beliefs that could reasonably be characterized as transphobic. Just two months ago, she appeared with trans makeup YouTuber NikkieTutorials while promoting her upcoming album. In 2016, the popstar brought her then-three-year-old son to Disneyland dressed as Anna, the princess from the popular Disney movie Frozen. At a performance that same year, Adele spoke about the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Florida, saying, “I would like to start tonight by dedicating this entire show to everybody in Orlando and at Pulse nightclub last night. … The LGBTQ community, they’re like my soul mates since I was really young, so I’m very moved by it.”
And in the midst of the current news cycle hyping her supposedly transphobic remarks, the pop singer appeared at an LGBTQ event at a popular nightclub in London and told the audience, “You’re all women who identify as women.”
Faux outrage over Adele’s comments come at a time when the trans community faces serious material obstacles to full equality. There are currently more than 50 bills under consideration in state legislatures across the country restricting trans people’s access to life-saving medical care, participation in sports, or facilities like bathrooms and locker rooms — an unprecedented legislative assault that the mainstream media has largely failed to cover.
According to a 2021 survey by The Trevor Project, “94% of LGBTQ youth reported that recent politics negatively impacted their mental health,” and more than half of trans youth in their survey “seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year.” Another recent study found that trans women “earn about 60 cents for every dollar the typical worker earns.” Fabricated “debates” that position the trans community as inherently unreasonable and that posits trans acceptance as threatening to everyone’s gender identity serves only to harm one of the most vulnerable communities in America.
