Alice Cooper canceled by cosmetics firm after opposing trans surgeries for kids
Alice Cooper, the eye-liner wearing “Godfather of Shock Rock,” was dumped by a cosmetics company after the singer questioned the rush to perform trans surgeries on kids and said that transitioning genders was a “fad.”
The 75-year-old rock legend, whose hits include “School’s Out” and “Welcome to My Nightmare,” had signed the brand partnership deal less than two weeks ago with Vampyre Cosmetics — which markets spooky and gothic-themed makeup, lipsticks, palettes and lashes.
However, Cooper was canceled by the company after he expressed opposition to “gender affirming care” for minors — which entails irreversible surgeries and hormonal treatments to facilitate the transition to the opposite sex — in an interview with the site Stereogum.
“I’m understanding that there are cases of transgender, but I’m afraid that it’s also a fad, and I’m afraid there’s a lot of people claiming to be this just because they want to be that,” the Detroit native, whose real name is Vincent Damon Furnier, told the site Wednesday.
“I find it wrong when you’ve got a 6-year-old kid who has no idea,” he said, adding: “He just wants to play, and you’re confusing him telling him, ‘Yeah, you’re a boy, but you could be a girl if you want to be.’”
Cooper added: “I think that’s so confusing to a kid. It’s even confusing to a teenager.”
“You’re still trying to find your identity, and yet here’s this thing going on, saying, ‘Yeah, but you can be anything you want. You can be a cat if you want to be’,” he said.
“I mean, if you identify as a tree… And I’m going, ‘Come on! What are we in, a Kurt Vonnegut novel?’”
“It’s so absurd, that it’s gone now to the point of absurdity,” Cooper said.
The rocker also blasted “the whole woke thing,” wondering: “Who’s making the rules? Is there a building somewhere in New York where people sit down every day and say, ‘Okay, we can’t say “mother” now. We have to say “birthing person.” Get that out on the wire right now?”’
“Who is this person that’s making these rules? I don’t get it,” Cooper said, adding: “I’m not being old school about it. I’m being logical about it.”
Cooper’s tune didn’t sit well with Vampyre, which sells its products in 130 stores mainly concentrated in the New Orleans area.
“In light of recent statements by Alice Cooper we will no longer be doing a makeup collaboration,” the company wrote on Instagram in announcing it was cutting ties with Cooper over his comments.
“We stand with all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and believe everyone should have access to healthcare. All pre-order sales will be refunded.”
A spokesperson for Cooper declined to comment. The Post has sought comment from Vampyre Cosmetics.
The financial details of the short-lived partnership were not available.
Vampyre Cosmetics describes itself as a “proudly women owned, disabled owned and LGBT+ owned” company whose ‘products are vegan, cruelty free and talc free.”
“We are queer, disabled, and proudly neurodiverse women working round the clock to bring you cosmetics so uniquely packaged… you exclaim ‘Holy Crap!’ when you see it,” Karen Holton, the managing owner of the company, said in a profile.