The San Francisco Pride Parade & Celebration is distancing itself from Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider after he supported a statement condemning sex reassignment for children made by KISS singer-guitarist Paul Stanley.
SF Pride planned on using Twisted Sister’s rebellious anthem “We’re Not Gonna Take It” as an unofficial rallying cry and have Snider perform the song on its center stage. Those plans were nixed after Snider voiced his support for Stanley’s declaration that “normalizing” sex reassignment for children is a “sad and dangerous fad.”
Snider — a longtime supporter of LGBTQ+ rights — tweeted in defense of Stanley’s statement: “You know what? There was a time where I ‘felt pretty’ too. Glad my parents didn’t jump to any rash conclusions! Well said, @PaulStanleyLive.”
That remark didn’t go over well with SF Pride, which released a statement on its website admonishing Snider’s tweet and stating that both parties were “mutually” parting ways:
“San Francisco Pride was on the cusp of announcing Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ as the unofficial rallying cry of this year’s SF Pride Parade & Celebration, with the band’s frontman Dee Snider performing the song on our center stage. Dee has always been a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ rights.
However, when we were notified about the tweet in which Dee expressed support for Kiss’s Paul Stanley’s transphobic statement, we were heartbroken and angry. The message perpetuated by that tweet casts doubt on young trans people’s ability to self-identify their gender.
Transgender people, particularly transgender women and children of color, are disproportionately affected by hate and violence. And with transphobia proliferating and becoming more and more enshrined in law throughout the country — we have to stand up for the most impacted among us.
We have mutually agreed to part ways, but appreciate Dee seeing this as a teachable moment and a reminder that even allies need to be educated to ensure that they are not casually promoting transphobia.
To all our allies — we want to call you in — not call you out.”
Snider was one of many who replied to Stanley’s tweet, which was met with both harsh backlash as well as support from fans and musical peers. The Offspring’s guitarist, Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman, admonished Stanley, writing, “This is a very disappointing take, especially from someone who wore high-heels, makeup, & teased up hair his whole career. As a young kid your band helped teach me that I could be whatever I wanted to be. I guess it was just gimmickry after all. #thatsashame.”
The San Francisco Pride Parade & Celebration is set for June 24th and 25th. Visit the SF Pride website for more information.
You know what? There was a time where I “felt pretty” too. Glad my parents didn’t jump to any rash conclusions! Well said, @PaulStanleyLive https://t.co/G80uNyzD7M
— Dee Snider🇺🇸🎤 (@deesnider) May 1, 2023
