Shock-rock performer Alice Cooper has been dropped from his collaboration with makeup brand Vampyre Cosmetics after saying transgenderism with children was a “fad.”
Cooper made his comments in an exclusive interview with Stereogum earlier this week.
“In light of recent statements by Alice Cooper we will no Longer be doing a makeup collaboration,” wrote Vampyre Cosmetics addressing Cooper’s comments. “We stand with all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and believe everyone should have access to healthcare.”
The makeup brand noted all pre-order sales would be refunded.
The shock-rocker partnered with Vampyre Cosmetics to release a makeup collection named after him.
Shortly after their announcement, Vampyre Cosmetics’ account was deleted.
@VampyreCosmetics has deleted their account after canceling their makeup collaboration with Alice Cooper pic.twitter.com/3Bhqxy5AH5
— Chris Bertman (@manofbert) August 25, 2023
Cooper spoke with Stereogum in promotion of his latest album Road, which was released today.
During the interview, Cooper was questioned about a 1974 interview with SPEC in which he said “in the future, everyone will be bisexual.”
“Lots of men who perform wear make-up – that’s a theatrical tradition, it has nothing to do with sexuality,” Cooper said in the 1974 interview.
Cooper was asked about fellow rock stars Paul Stanley of KISS and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, who have recently come out against gender transition for children, referring to it as a “sad and dangerous fad.”
We talked to @alicecooper about his new album 'Road,' his views on gender identity and "the woke thing," babysitting a young Keanu Reeves, his unbeatable high school cross country team, and more.
Our new We've Got A File On You:https://t.co/kiAHgvscbG
— Stereogum (@stereogum) August 23, 2023
“I’m understanding that there are cases of transgender,” he said. “I’m afraid there’s a lot of people claiming to be this just because they want to be that.”
“I find it wrong when you’ve got a six-year-old kid who has no idea,” Cooper said. “He just wants to play, and you’re confusing him telling him, ‘Yeah, you’re a boy, but you could be a girl if you want to be.'”
The shock-rocker said it was “confusing” to children and teenagers.
“You’re still trying to find your identity, and yet here’s this thing going on, saying, ‘Yeah, but you can be anything you want. You can be a cat if you want to be,'” he continued. “Come on! What are we in, a Kurt Vonnegut novel?”
Cooper went on to say:
It’s so absurd, that it’s gone now to the point of absurdity. The whole woke thing … Who’s making the rules? Is there a building somewhere in New York where people sit down every day and say, “Okay, we can’t say ‘mother’ now. We have to say ‘birthing person.’ Get that out on the wire right now”? Who is this person that’s making these rules? I don’t get it.
Cooper said he wasn’t being “old school” about his stance but rather logical.
“It’s getting to the point now where it’s laughable,” he continued. “If anybody was trying to make a point on this thing, they turned it into a huge comedy.”
Cooper said he personally doesn’t know a single person who agrees with “the woke thing.”
Everybody I talk to says, “Isn’t it stupid?” And I’m going, Well, I respect people. I respect people and who they are, but I’m not going to tell a seven-year-old boy, “Go put a dress on because maybe you’re a girl,” and he’s going, “No, I’m not. I’m a boy.” So I say let somebody at least become sexually aware of who they are before they start thinking about if they’re a boy or a girl.
“If you have these genitals, you’re a boy. If you have those genitals, you’re a girl,” Cooper concluded. “There’s a difference between ‘I am a male who is a female, or I’m a female that’s a male’ and wanting to be a female.”
“You were born a male. Okay, so that’s a fact. You have these things here.”
In 2018, Cooper revealed he and his wife were Christian in an interview with Newsweek.
“My father was a pastor, my grandfather was an evangelist. I grew up in the church, went as far away as I could from it — almost died — and then came back to the church,” he said.
During a Wednesday night concert, fellow music performer Carlos Santana similarly appeared to criticize transgenderism.
“When God made you and me,” the guitarist said, “before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are.”
Last night at a concert in New Jersey, rock legend Carlos Santana said “when God made you and me, before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are… a woman is a woman and a man is a man.”
pic.twitter.com/zCZibZIkM2— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 24, 2023
“A woman is a woman, and a man is a man.”
