Irish musician Hozier has long been a fierce and vocal defender of the LGBTQ+ community, and has a message anyone targeting trans people.
Recently there has been a marked rise in hostility towards the trans community – something the has noticed.
Having been publiclymultiple times, from calling for trans rights on Twitter to aiming a brutal put-down to Graham Linehan, the Wicklow native has now called the attack on trans people ‘grimly predictable’ – and has a message for anyone taking part in it.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk ahead of the release of new album Unreal Unearth, the acclaimed lyricist described the wave of transphobia as a distraction from the serious issues affecting the world.
‘I think it’s grimly predictable at a time we’re in a cost of living crisis, this massive crisis of inequality, a rental crisis, housing crisis,’ he began.
‘At a time where there are already huge, huge questions to be asked about how our society is functioning and what we want out of an economy that really isn’t working for everyday folks … there are media companies who love picking soft targets, and rather than having conversations about the actual, serious, difficult questions of our time and our collective predicament, will just take less than one percent of the population and decide the most pressing thing is to talk about them in an existential way.’
He called the ‘scapegoating’ of ‘tiny, tiny minorities’ the ‘oldest trick in the book’.
His response to those who cruelly target the trans community is all about human decency – and those who clearly don’t have it, don’t have it.
‘If you believe in a free and open society, part of that is respecting and supporting your fellow citizens’ rights to be who they are.
‘For me, it’s a question of decency and showing up. It’s a very simple question of human decency when you treat someone with respect, you treat them with respect whether that’s their pronoun, their name – it’s so simple.
‘It really is. These things aren’t that complicated, you know?’
The Cherry Wine singer, unfortunately, didn’t make it to a Pride parade as he was on tour at the time, but while on the road ‘got to meet a few wonderful fans, and in some small way either on stage or off, got to offer some form of support.’
‘It’s the little things here and there, you do what you can,’ he said, adding it’s important to do things all year round and not just Pride Month: earlier in the year he took part in the Love Rising benefit concert in the US, to support the LGBTQ+ community and protest bills and laws negatively impacting the community.
Hozier’s public support of the queer community goes back to his first smash-hit single Take Me To Church, with lyrics criticising the church’s control and the video following the violence inflicted on a gay couple.
Reflecting on writing the song, he said he was ‘proud’ of it – but didn’t expect it to be a mainstream success.
‘It was this weird song that changed signatures and went from major to minor. You had these weird movements in it structurally, musically it had a lot of stuff against it being a popular song. But I was proud of it and the lyrics.
‘Some of the lyrics of that song, the ethos, the song’s mission statement are something I’m really proud of. I do remember writing it and feeling very proud of it and thinking it was achieving something I had hoped to achieve with the song. But that’s such a private victory in the moment. It’s when you’re like, “OK, I think this works as an idea.” And I thought maybe it might be appreciated, but by a comparatively tiny audience.’
The lyricist is now preparing for the release of his third album, out on August 18, and is getting to share some new songs while on tour, describing the reaction as ‘very special.’
Hozier will take to the stage at London’s Alexandra Palace on Friday, with some tickets still available for the special outdoor show before he returns to the UK on tour later this year.
Unreal Unearth is out August 18.
