It is bad enough that bigotry is all around us.
But it’s downright weird when bigots espouse hateful garbage when keeping it to themselves is free.
Brittany Aldean is among the latest to throw her hat into the ring for no reason.
She posted transphobic lies that endanger children, then cried foul over clapback. Now, her husband’s publicity firm has cut ties with the couple.
Let’s start at the beginning of this ugly mess.
“I’d really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase,” Brittany wrote on Instagram.
She raved: “I love this girly life.” Beside this out-of-pocket caption, she included a video of her makeup. Okay.
Note that RHOC alum Vicki Gunvalson, the woman who freaked out when two castmates kissed and made odd comments about drag queens, liked this. Birds of a feather.
Anyway, that is an ignorant-at-best comment directed at transgender children.
Trans boys aren’t “tomboys.” They’re boys. That’s pretty simple.
And, um, the parents of trans kids don’t “change the gender” of their children. They just support their kids. Also not super complicated.
While not all trans folks seek medical affirmation, some do go on puberty blockers.
This is to avoid a dysphoric “wrong puberty” experience so that they can one day go on HRT if they so choose.
So, at the start, Brittany Aldean’s post just seemed like a bad joke, one made in ignorance.
She deserved the clapback that followed, but we could at least understand that people are not born magically possessing knowledge of all things.
Unfortunately, there was more to Brittany’s post than needing to learn and grow. She immediately made it clear that the malice was not accidental.
Brittany Aldean’s response to well-earned backlash was to double down, going so far as to repeat transphobic lies.
“Advocating for the genital mutilation of children under the disguise of love and calling it ‘gender affirming care’ is one of the worst evils,” she declared.
Obviously, that is not a real thing that happens in real life. It is a pernicious lie told by dangerous transphobes who target trans kids, their families, and anyone else who supports them.
Transphobes like Brittany herself, clearly.
“Some parents want to be accepted by society so badly,” she spat.
Brittany continued: “That they’re willing to make life-altering decisions for their children who aren’t old enough to fully comprehend the consequences of those actions.”
Brittany wrote: “Love is protecting your child until they are mature enough as an adult to make their own life decisions.”
She then went on to repeat an infamous transphobic talking point, likening children knowing their gender to pretending to be a dinosaur.
At a time when transphobic legislation and stochastic terrorism is ramping up with the goal of eradicating an entire group of people, this isn’t just a “mistake.” It’s bigotry. It’s dangerous.
Other Country personalities like Cassadee Pope and Maren Morris called out Brittany for her vile post.
Brittany then proudly tripled down on her bigotry with an appearance on the show of notorious dirtbag Tucker Carlson.
We mentioned that keeping bigoted thoughts to oneself is free. We should also remember that voicing this evil can be very lucrative.
Jason defended his mistress-turned-wife. But explicit bigotry can mean blowback.
The GreenRoom co-owner Tyne Parrish announced on Thursday that the company “had to make the difficult decision after 17 years to step away from representing Jason.”
He acknowledged diplomatically that “we aren’t the best people for the gig anymore.” He then praised Aldean’s music.
It seems likely that Brittany has heard so much misinformation that she simply believes it to be true.
A lot of bigotry relies upon this kind of echo chamber to take root in people’s minds.
In this case … does she think that 8-year-old trans kids are getting bottom surgery? Because that’s not how anything works.
There are real cases of genital mutilation of children.
FGM is genital mutilation of children. Circumcision is genital mutilation of children.
For generations, doctors and parents have inflicted genital mutilation upon intersex kids. The intention is to force “normal” genitals upon them.
What happens with a trans kid has supportive parents?
Often, they talk about new hairstyles. They might shop for new clothes.
Years later, they might start puberty blockers — which are safe, reversible, and also used for cisgender kids. Some cis girls go on them if they have early periods. Or very bad periods.
At this point, we can imagine what happened.
Maybe Brittany made a joke that went over well in her toxic social circle. Maybe she was shocked by the response.
But it’s also possible that she was stirring up controversy on purpose. Why? Well, as a rallying cry to fellow transphobes.
