Ne-Yo Backtracks On Apology To LGBTQ Community For Gender Identity Comments

Ne-Yo seems to be debunking an apology that appeared on his Twitter page!

The singer-songwriter and actor seemed to have apologized for his previous remarks. He raised doubts about parents that support minor kids who identify with a gender different from the one assigned to them at birth. However, just hours after the apology went public, Ne-Yo claimed that it was his publicist who issued the statement, not him.

Over the weekend, Ne-Yo — real name Shaffer Chimere Smith — appeared on VladTV, where he slammed parents who permit their kids to make "life-changing decisions" through gender transitions. At the time, he had stated:

"I feel like parents have almost forgotten what the role of a parent is. If your little boy comes to you and says, 'Daddy, I want to be a girl.' And you just let him rock with that? He's five. If you let this five-year-old boy decide to eat candy all day, he's gonna do that. When did it become a good idea to let a five-year-old, let a six-year-old, let a 12-year-old make a life-changing decision for themself? When did that happen? I don't understand."

Once the YouTube-uploaded content went viral, the "Because of You" singer was attacked for his comments, and he promptly took to X —formerly Twitter — to express his "deepest apologies."

"After much reflection, I'd like to express my deepest apologies to anyone that I may have hurt with my comments on parenting and gender identity. I've always been an advocate for love and inclusivity in the LGBTQI+ community, so I understand how my comments could've been interpreted as insensitive and offensive," the statement began.

Ne-Yo then admitted that he planned to "better educate" himself on the topic so he could "approach future conversations with more empathy" since he knew that "gender is nuanced." He wrapped up by writing, "At the end of the day, I lead with love and support everyone's freedom of expression and pursuit of happiness."

Amongst the thousands of responses the post received was this one that claimed, "Ne-Yo just showed his cowardliness," and another that read, "If telling the truth hurts a few feelings, then go hurt some feelings. Kids are getting cut up and sterilized. What's more important? The feelings of crazy people, or the kids."

"This man made a factual statement about the sex binary. Now he's being marched up Brokebuck Mountain and begging for forgiveness for speaking the truth. Just another reminder that the rainbow revolution does not tolerate ANY dissent," a third cybercitizen pointed out.

Amid the chaos, a deeper look at Ne-Yo's statement disclosed that netizens had added community notes that declared that his publicist had shared the apology. In fact, the "Time of Our Lives" hitmaker himself posted a video on Instagram to maintain his position "from the horse's mouth" and "not the publicist's computer." He partially stated:

"I did not apologize for having an opinion on this matter. I am a 43-year-old heterosexual man raising five boys and two girls, okay? That's my reality. If my opinion offended somebody, yeah, sure, I apologize for you being offended because that wasn't my intention. My intention is never to offend anybody. However, I'm entitled to feel how I feel. I am absolutely entitled to feel how I feel the same way you are entitled to feel how you feel."

Besides causing a stir online, Ne-Yo recently made headlines for publicly appearing with his ex-wife, Crystal Renay, which sparked speculations that they had reconciled. The Blast shared that the former couple had attended the opening of the latest location of their restaurant, Johnny's Chicken and Waffles, in June.

However, an insider, who debunked the claims, clarified that the outing was simply a professional one and not romantic in any way. In their words, "Ne-Yo and Crystal are not back together, and they were both at the restaurant opening because they are co-owners, and it's in their contracts."

The source further revealed that the Grammy Awards winner and his former wife had romantically moved on with other people while continuing to co-parent their three children.

Ne-Yo and Renay's public appearance occurred two months after rumors surfaced that the former had fathered a child with another woman, Sade. Fans had seemingly connected the dots after the Soul Train Music Award recipient shared pictures of Sade's newborn son on social media.