Legendary guitarist Carlos Santana made headlines after saying that "a woman is a woman and a man is a man." The singer's comments came during a concert in New Jersey.
"When God made you and me, before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are. Later on, when you grow out of it, you see things, and you start believing that you could be something that sounds good, but you know it ain’t right. Because a woman is a woman and a man is a man. That is. Whatever you wanna do in the closet, that’s your business. I’m OK with that," Santana said.
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
However, Santana's statements were misrepresented by some media reports, and people who claimed that the singer had said that trans people should stay in the closet, but the phrase literally was: "Whatever you wanna do in the closet, that’s your business. I’m OK with that."
Carlos Santana Says Transgender People Should Stay ‘in the Closet’ in Concert Clip https://t.co/rsbMo73TIo
— billboard (@billboard) August 24, 2023
In addition, Santana also defended comedian Dave Chappelle, who has faced attacks for insisting that gender is based on biology.
After receiving the criticism, the "Smooth" singer wrote a statement expressing that his intention was not to offend LGBT people. He maintained that the misinterpretation of his words goes against his values and beliefs. He defended people's freedom to live how they want to live, saying, "This is the planet of free will and we have all been given this gift. I will now pursue this goal to be happy and have fun, and for everyone to believe what they want and follow in your hearts without fear."
"I am sorry for my insensitive comments. They don’t reflect that I want to honor and respect all person’s ideals and beliefs. I realize that what I said hurt people and that was not my intent. I sincerely apologize to the transgender community and everyone I offended," Santana added in the statement posted on his Facebook account.
