“I want to honor and respect all people’s ideals and beliefs,” the ‘Maria Maria’ singer declared in a statement that has since been removed. Carlos Santana apologized to the LGBTQ community after harsh statements he made during a recent event went viral. “I apologize for my inappropriate remarks. They do not reflect my desire to recognize and respect everyone’s goals and views. I recognize that what I said hurt individuals, which was not my intention. “I sincerely apologize to the transgender community and anyone I have offended,” the “Maria Maria” singer said in a statement uploaded to his Facebook page on Thursday and then removed on Friday. “Here is my personal goal that I strive to achieve every day,” Santana, 76, concluded. I want to recognize and respect all people’s goals and views, LGBTQ or not. This is the planet of free will, which we have all been given. I will now pursue this objective of being happy and having fun, as well as encouraging everyone to believe what they want and follow their hearts without fear. It requires guts to grow and shine in your own light, as well as to be sincere, genuine, and authentic. We learn to shine our light with love and compliments as we mature. Have a beautiful life. Peace.” “The energy of consciousness generates its own kind,” a replacement Facebook post stated on Friday. “Hate breeds hatred, and love breeds love.”
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The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer issued an apology after being caught on camera during a June concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey, telling his crowd that certain gender expressions and identities “ain’t right.” Footage of Santana’s statements, which were widely condemned as anti-trans, began spreading on social media on Thursday. “When God made you and me, before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are,” he explained at the time. “As you grow older, you see things and begin to believe that you could be something that sounds good, but you know it ain’t right.” Because a woman is still a woman and a guy is still a man. That’s all. Whatever you want to do in the closet is your prerogative. That’s fine with me.” Santana’s controversial comments come as LGBTQ+ individuals continue to experience discrimination across the United States. At least 13 U.S. states have signed anti-LGBTQ legislation into law, and another 23 states introduced such bills in 2022 alone, according to the Human Rights Campaign, with many of those laws targeting transgender youth and gender-affirming care. Texas Gov.
Greg Abbott has ramped up attacks on trans youth, directing the Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate parents for child abuse after they provided gender-affirming care for their children. Florida and Alabama have since adopted similar policies. President Joe Biden extended his support to trans Americans at Transgender Day of Visibility in March 2022 and 2023, and he has continued to urge Congress to approve the Equality Act. Last August, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a judgment stating that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 applies to those suffering from gender dysphoria, potentially paving the way for access to gender-affirming care. Santana told PEOPLE in June that “love is unconditional” while discussing how he met his wife, jazz percussionist Cindy Blackman Santana. “I was meditating and talking to God when I said, ‘I need a queen to come home and share this with me.'” “Love is unconditional, and I need someone who will love me and grow with me,” he explained. “And the next thing I know, Cindy appears. Cindy strode like a New York woman, full of confidence. “I thought, ‘Damn.'” Cindy, 63, and the “Black Magic Woman” singer were engaged onstage in July 2010 and married that December at the Ritz-Carlton in Maui, Hawaii.
