San Francisco Pride drops Dee Snider after supporting Paul Stanley transphobia tweet
Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider has been dropped from his planned appearance at the 2023 San Francisco Pride Parade and Celebration.
The news comes after Snider publically supported a message from Kiss singer Paul Stanley which has been widely interpreted as being transphobic.
“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,” the parade organisers announced in a press release. “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,” they continue. “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,” the statement adds. “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,” the statement concludes. “To all our allies — we want to call you in — not call you out.”
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