Roísin Murphy removed from Istanbul festival following anti-transgender social media posts
Roísin Murphy has been removed as a headliner of Back In Town Festival in Istanbul, Turkey, following a series of anti-transgender posts made on social media.
On October 21st, Murphy shared a graph on her X account that claimed that the number of 18-22-year-olds identifying as non-binary or transgender in the United States has decreased significantly from 2021 to 2024.
The Irish singer captioned the post, “It was never real. Terribly sad though. Absolute havoc wreaked on children, families and society.”
In response to one X user who replied, “Yeah people are less likely to be openly trans at times when hate speech at trans people is encouraged by people in power, what is your fucking point,” Murphy responded, “I think you mean when dissenting voices are heard.”
In another lengthy post on X, the former Moloko vocalist said that “the mob is out in force” against her and also wrote, “I have zero hate toward trans people; I do not deny anyone’s existence”. She then claimed her caption “refers to the contagion that was undoubtedly aided by the submission of the media, captured medical institutions, and social media derangement”.
Many artists took to social media to condemn Murphy, with CMAT writing on Instagram Stories, “I sincerely hope that A Certain Other Irish Pop Star gets the help that she needs, but right now she is very publicly acting like a bully and is absolutely not a voice to be listened to or trusted when it comes to trans lives.”
Over the weekend, Murphy was due to headline the inaugural Back In Town Festival in Istanbul on October 25th, but was replaced at the last-minute by Turkish singer-songwriter Kalben.
The event explained their decision in a statement, sharing (via Stereogum): “From the idea phase, we started with the dream of a true music festival centered in Istanbul, which we missed — including everyone in all its diversity, where everyone can feel safe and belong.”
They continued: “Our entire language of communication, our selection of artists, and our partners have been shaped to strengthen this texture with all the opportunities available to us. With the same perspective, we added Róisín Murphy to our line-up as a headliner, believing that she represents the energy we missed and touched many of you in a sincere place. However, the statements she shared in recent days completely eliminated these feelings.”
Back In Town Festival then said they “would never be comfortable including her in such a festival set-up” and noted, “We would like to state that we cannot include her in our program, keeping the values we try to introduce to you above all things — and knowing that this stance cannot have any financial equivalent.”
Murphy, who previously criticised puberty blockers in 2023, has yet to comment on the decision to remove her from Back In Town Festival.
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