Brittany Aldean Defends Her Transphobic Comments on ‘Tucker Carlson’: ‘I’m Advocating for Children’
Brittany Aldean made an appearance on FOX News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight on Thursday (Sept. 1) to discuss the controversy surrounding her recent social media comments about transgender youth.
Aldean, who is the wife of country star Jason Aldean, is facing backlash for saying on social media Aug. 23 that she was glad that her parents did not “change her gender” during her “tomboy phase.” In a lengthier Aug. 26 Instagram Stories post, she went into more detail on her thoughts regarding transgender youth and gender-affirming care, writing in part: “Advocating for the genital mutilation of children under the disguise of love and calling it ‘gender affirming care’ is one of the worst evils.” She also criticized parents who support their kids’ desire to transition.
More from Billboard
Jason Aldean's Publicity Firm Splits With Singer After Wife's Transphobic Comments
The Weeknd Forced to Cut Second LA Stadium Show Short After Losing His Voice
“I’m advocating for children,” Aldean told Carlson. “I think that children should not be allowed to make these life-changing decisions at such a young age. They are not mature enough; they should have parents who love them and advocate for them regardless. We have ages on everything. We have it for cigarettes, driving, military, voting … yet for some reason people think that we can let a child choose their gender so young? It’s very baffling to me.”
She told Carlson that she was “extremely surprised” by the backlash to her words. “I never thought that there was anything wrong with [my statement],” she said. “I think I’m advocating for children. … I think when you’re older, if you choose to make those decisions, by all means. But children are too young, not mature enough to make those decisions.”
Current medical guidelines generally do not recommend gender-affirming surgeries until the person is at least 18 years of age. (To learn more, visit GLAAD’s website for transgender resources and information.)
Aldean’s comments on social media were considered transphobic by many, and also drew ire from some in the country music community, including Maren Morris and Cassadee Pope.
Pope tweeted that celebrities should “see the positives in including LGBTQ+ people in their messaging,” while Morris commented, “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie.” Carlson, in his segment, referred to Morris as a “lunatic” and “fake country music singer” in response to her comments about Aldean.
After criticism over Aldean’s comment surfaced, she announced that she was promoting a new line of “Barbie-inspired” shirts emblazoned with the words “Don’t tread on our kids.”
Since the controversy, top Nashville publicity firm The GreenRoom told Billboard that it has parted ways with Jason Aldean after representing the musician for nearly two decades. “Music has always been and remains The GreenRoom’s core focus, so we had to make the difficult decision after 17 years to step away from representing Jason,” co-owner Tyne Parrish said. “We aren’t the best people for the gig anymore, but will always be big fans of his music — he is one of the greatest live entertainers in country music.”
Watch Brittany Aldean’s interview on Tucker Carlson Tonight below:
