Róisín Murphy hits out at ‘confused young people’ as she addresses puberty blocker backlash again
The singer was speaking at a Westminster event for a new report on boycotts in the arts, published by Freedom in the Arts and academic Jo Phoenix
By Callum Wells
Róisín Murphy has claimed “confused young people” are acting as “social media enforcers” as she addressed the fallout from her comments on puberty blockers.
The singer was speaking at a Westminster event for a new report on boycotts in the arts, published by Freedom in the Arts and academic Jo Phoenix, on Monday (27 April).
Murphy faced backlash in 2023 after she criticised the use of puberty blockers for young people on Facebook.
What did Róisín Murphy say about puberty blockers?
She wrote: “Puberty blockers are f***ed, absolutely desolate, Big Pharma laughing all the way to the bank. Little mixed-up kids are vulnerable and need to be protected, that’s just true.”
At the Westminster event, Murphy said the response to her comments was immediate and wide-reaching.
As per The Times, she said, “When artists speak plainly these days, especially on radioactive issues, they don’t get debate.
“They get condemnation and professional exile. I’ve lived it when I spoke my mind about puberty blockers and current social trends around gender.
“I watched the machinery kick in fast. Pressure to recant, threats to pull promotion, leads to the press, venues dropping bookings, colleagues stepping back. The message was clear – conform or risk your livelihood.”
“Being cancelled is hard. The world goes very dark very quickly” – Murphy on backlash from her comments
She said the experience had a personal impact, adding, “Being cancelled is hard. The world goes very dark very quickly.
“Everyone and anyone who is ever going to disappoint you does so all at once.
“Networks of interwoven friendship and career that took years to grow collapse overnight. All the hypocrisy, frailty and hidden disloyalty gets exposed at once. It’s bewildering and it’s a bitter pill.”
Murphy also said entering the debate brought criticism of her age and appearance, as well as her work.
She argued that online behaviour is playing a growing role in how artists are treated.
How did she reignite controversy last October?
“Meanwhile, a noisy minority, often very confused young people caught in cycles of pornography and niche online communities, have made themselves the social media enforcers.
“Small groups with multiple accounts can trigger the cancellation of events and whole careers.”
Murphy reignited controversy last October after sharing a disputed chart online showing the decline of young people identifying as non-binary or trans.
“It was never real. Terribly sad though. Absolute havoc wreaked on children, families, and society,” wrote the singer on X beneath the data, which appeared to come from a US survey by Tufts University.
The Irish singer was subsequently removed from the Back In Town Festival in Istanbul
Murphy later responded in a lengthy post addressing the backlash she received online, criticising what she called a “mob” of online activists and adding, “I won’t be held to ransom, no more blackmail.”
The statement read: “The mob is out in force. The more I see of this cruel ‘activism,’ the more convinced I am that I do not want them anywhere near me or my music, however that may affect my career.”
She added: “I am not interested in being their ‘mother’ or ‘queen’; these babies need to grow up and allow artists like myself the dignity of opinion and the space and freedom to create.”
The Irish singer was subsequently removed from the Back In Town Festival in Istanbul.