Róisín Murphy criticises Madonna for supporting transgender people

Róisín Murphy has criticised Madonna over her support for transgender people.

The singer made the comments on X on Tuesday (4 August) while discussing the controversy surrounding her own views on trans issues. Murphy claimed she had been pressured by her record label to publicly commit to “educating” herself after facing backlash, but said she refused.

“I was told repeatedly from every direction that I had to say I was committing to ‘educating myself,'” she wrote. “It was terrifying to observe and extremely hard to resist. I’m not saying I was perfectly consistent throughout my ordeal, but I would not say *that. I did, however, continue to educate myself; ironically and inevitably it went the other way.”

What did Róisín Murphy say about her record label?

Murphy went on to describe what she said were difficult negotiations with her label over how it should respond publicly.

No, Madonna has no such excuse for supporting the TQ+ bandwagon or for not calling out its inherent homophobia. Perhaps she just doesn’t care that children who would’ve grown up to be gay are being medicalised and harmed before they have the maturity to know who they are. Strange…

— Róisín Murphy (@roisinmurphy) August 4, 2026

“After a week-long struggle session with my label, they finally accepted I would not let them put words into my mouth,” she wrote. “They then publicly distanced themselves and promised not to promote me. That was their legal mistake, and I didn’t let them get away with it.”

In another post, Murphy said she had rejected what she described as a “gagging order”.

“In the negotiations, I also refused a gagging order, so I’m free to tell the truth about what happened whenever I wish. I had a fucking great lawyer.”

She also criticised the use of morality clauses in recording contracts, claiming they are becoming more common across the music industry.

“Madonna has no such excuse for supporting the TQ+ bandwagon” – Murphy on X

“I often wonder how many legally gagged artists there are,” she wrote. “I was told at the time that most major label contracts had the very authoritarian-sounding ‘morality clause’ as standard.”

Murphy added that she believes labels are now pushing for similar clauses to become standard in live performance contracts before asking: “I wonder if Ninja has a ‘morality clause’ as standard in new contracts? It’s fucked.”

The discussion then turned to Madonna after one X user replied: “I guess Madonna never had that clause.”

Murphy responded: “No, Madonna has no such excuse for supporting the TQ+ bandwagon or for not calling out its inherent homophobia. Perhaps she just doesn’t care that children who would’ve grown up to be gay are being medicalised and harmed before they have the maturity to know who they are. Strange that.”

Madonna has long supported transgender people

Madonna has been an outspoken supporter of LGBTQ+ rights throughout her career and has repeatedly defended transgender people in speeches, social media posts and performances. She has not publicly responded to Murphy’s comments.

Murphy has faced criticism over her views on trans issues before. In 2023, she apologised after comments about puberty blockers prompted backlash ahead of the release of her album Hit Parade.

She had written on Facebook: “Puberty blockers are fucked, 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.”

Murphy has continued to speak negatively about trans issues

At the time, she wrote that she accepted “full responsibility” for her remarks and apologised “unreservedly” to members of the trans community and anyone else she had hurt.

Despite that apology, Murphy has continued to speak negatively about trans issues.

In October 2025, she removed from the Back In Town Festival in Istanbul, Turkey, after claiming being trans and non-binary was “never real”.

Speaking at a Palace of Westminster event in April, she subsequently hit out at “confused young people” for acting as “social media enforcers”.