After Lady Gaga received transphobic comments following her photo shoot with trans TikToker Dylan Mulvaney, the pop star shared a statement on Instagram decrying the negative remarks.
“It’s appalling to me that a post about National [sic] Women’s Day by Dylan Mulvaney and me would be met with such vitriol and hatred,” wrote Gaga. “When I see a newspaper reporting on hatred but calling it ‘backlash’ I feel it is important to clarify that hatred is hatred, and this kind of hatred is violence. ‘Backlash’ would imply that people who love or respect Dylan and me didn’t like something we did. This is not backlash. This is hatred.”
She continued, “But it is not surprising given the immense work that it’s obvious we still have to do as a society to make room for transgender lives to be cherished and upheld by all of us.”
The “Born This Way” singer shared that she feels “very protective,” not just toward Mulvaney but also toward the trans community as a whole, “who continues to lead the way with their endless grace and inspiration in the face of constant degradation, intolerance and physical, verbal and mental violence.”
Gaga added that while she’s not intending to speak for the trans community as a cis woman, she hopes “all women will come together to honor us ALL for International Women’s Day, and may we do that always until THE DAY that all women are celebrated equally. That all people are celebrated equally.”
Mulvaney acknowledged Gaga’s support in the comments, writing, “You mean the world to me. Love ya.”
Read more here from the Hollywood Reporter.
