‘Shameful’: Outrage over Adele backlash

Adele is being accused of transphobia for declaring at a gender-neutral awards show that she loves “being a woman”.

The Rolling In The Deep singer made the remark at Wednesday’s Brit Awards as she collected the prize for Artist of the Year, a new category which merges the old Best Male and Best Female Artist awards.

“I understand why the name of this award has changed but I really love being a woman and being a female artist. I do!” she said to huge cheers.

“I’m really proud of us, I really, really am,” she said.

Despite support from the audience in London’s huge O2 Arena, her comments quickly sparked outrage online – making her the latest high-profile figure accused of being a TERF, or trans-exclusionary radical feminist.

“Please, no, ADELE can’t be a TERF,” a “staunch feminist” performer named Jacob told his thousands of Twitter followers.

“Who’d have thought Adele was a transphobe and would use her platform to call for the destruction of the trans community. Especially the confused teenagers,” another long-time Twitter user posted.
 

Others complained that they had “lost a lot of respect for Adele” and would no longer “spend a cent on her music,” the Times of London noted.

However, the attacks led many to spring to the 33-year-old star’s defence, including commentator Piers Morgan who dubbed it “absolutely shameful”.

“Thank you @Adele. Just, thank you. For speaking the two words being vilified. Woman. Female,” tweeted author and refugee campaigner Onjali Rauf.

Author and media consultant Jane Symons also said she didn’t know “whether to cry or scream” at the latest attacks.

“A decade ago, if someone had said a woman would [be criticised] for the thought-crime of saying she liked being a woman, I would have laughed at such a ludicrous suggestion. Now it is happening,” she wrote.

Astonishing how a woman can go on stage, say how much she enjoys being a woman and being female and that's enough to label her a #terf.

So basically, proudly defining you're a member of a specific sex is #transphobic?

It's utter nonsense.

Congrats to #Adele though. ?

— GCBeeGee (@GCBeeGee) February 8, 2022

Hopefully anyone who had any doubt that we are in the grip of a harmful ideology will have their eyes fully opened by seeing how controversial it has become for a woman to say, "I love being a woman". #adele

— Milli Hill (@millihill) February 9, 2022

Absolutely shameful.
How dare @Adele have the brass-neck audacity to ignore gender-neutral bullsh*t and take pride in being female? She’s clearly an evil TERF who must be cancelled immediately. https://t.co/HIUeFK3pJF

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 9, 2022

A man says he loves being a woman and people applaud and cheer such progression. A woman says it and people take offence. That is where we are. #Adele

— Sonia Poulton (@SoniaPoulton) February 9, 2022

In an op-ed in theSpectator, teacher Debbie Hayton said that Adele risked joining the group of “talented women” like Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling who “have been pursued and persecuted mercilessly, simply for standing up for their sex”.

“Adele’s message to women and girls was inspirational. Here was a woman – who has sold tens of millions of albums – telling the world she was proud to be a woman. That’s something to celebrate, not condemn,” she wrote.

“Girls need role models and last night Adele stepped up to the plate. For that, she deserves applause, even greater than the adulation she received for her music.”

Adele is yet to comment on the criticism.

This story originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission