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R&B performer Ne-Yo slammed parents who allow their young children to make decisions about their gender, wondering in a new interview when it became a "good idea" to let kids make "life-changing decisions" for themselves.
During a conversation on VladTV with Gloria Velez, the rapper and father of seven opined on people who allow their minor children to receive puberty blockers and hormone treatments, arguing that they have forgotten their role as a parent.
"Parents have almost forgotten what the role of a parent is," said Ne-Yo, whose real name is Shaffer Chimere Smith. "It’s like, OK, if your little boy comes to you and says, ‘Daddy, I want to be a girl.’ And you just let him rock with that? You just let – he’s 5."
R&B performer Ne-Yo wonders in a new interview when it became a "good idea" to let kids make "life-changing decisions" for themselves. (Erika Goldring/Getty Images)
"If you let this 5-year-old boy decide to eat candy all day, he’s going to do that," he continued. "Like when did it become a good idea to let a 5-year-old, let a 6-year-old, let a 12-year-old make a life-changing decision for themselves? When did that happen? Like, I don’t understand that. I don’t get that."
Ne-Yo said he finds it puzzling that a young child "can’t drive a car yet, but he can decide his sex."
The Grammy award-winning artist said that while he has "no issue" with the LGBTQ+ community, he was raised in an era when "a man was a man and a woman was a woman."
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"I have no issue with the [LGBTQ+], I have no problem with none of you all, with nobody," he said. "Love who you love, do what you do. I just personally come from an era where a man was a man and a woman was a woman. And it wasn’t but two genders, and that’s just how I rocked it. Now you could identify as [a] goldfish if you feel like it, that isn't my business. It becomes my business when you try to make me play the game with you. I’m not going to call you a goldfish, but you want to be a goldfish, you go be a goldfish."
He added, "It’s just, we live in a weird time man."
Ne-Yo says he finds it puzzling that a child "can’t drive a car yet, but he can decide his sex." (Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images)
Ne-Yo added that if a young boy asks his parents to let him transition to a girl, his parents should question him about what being a girl means to him.
"What is he going to do? He’s going to say, well, he might want to play with dolls. All right, you want to play with dolls? Fine, play with dolls, but you’re a boy playing with dolls," he said. "‘I want to wear pink.’ All right, cool, wear pink, but you’re a boy wearing pink."
Ne-Yo later stood by his comments on Instagram after coming under fire from LGBTQ+ supporters and activists online.
Ne-Yo responded to the backlash in the comment section of a Hollywood Unlocked Instagram post. (Ne-Yo's Instagram)
"1st and foremost, I CONDEMN NO ONE, the rapper wrote. "Who am I to condemn anybody? Your life, your kids, your choice. I was asked a question and I answered it. My opinion is mine. I’m not asking anybody to agree with me nor am I telling you what you can and cannot do with your children. I stated my opinion on a matter and that’s that."
The rapper added that while he loves everyone, his opinions on the matter haven't changed.
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"Why should I care if my opinion upsets you when you don’t care if yours upsets anyone? Opinions aren’t special. We all have one. People voice them regularly whether they’re asked or not. I was actually asked mine. Agreeing to disagree is not a declaration of war. Y’all do whatever the hell y’all want to. But my feelings on the matter are mine. Same way yours are yours. Meanwhile, I love everybody," he continued. "Don’t agree with some of y’all’s ideals….but love you no less."
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