Carlos Santana has apologized after video surfaced of him making seemingly anti-trans comments at a recent concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
“I am sorry for my insensitive comments. They don’t reflect that I want to honor and respect all person’s ideals and beliefs,” he wrote in a since-deleted post on Facebook. “I realize that what I said hurt people and that was not my intent. I sincerely apologize to the transgender community and everyone I offended.”
In the video, Santana is heard telling the audience, “a woman is a woman and a man is a man. That’s it,” adding, “Whatever you wanna do in the closet, that’s your business. I’m okay with that.”
“Here is my personal goal that I strive to achieve every day. I want to honor and respect all person’s ideals and beliefs whether they are LGBTQ or not,” he writes in his apology. “This is the planet of free will and we have all been given this gift. I will now pursue this goal to be happy and have fun, and for everyone to believe what they want and follow in your hearts without fear.”
He concludes, “It takes courage to grow and glow in the light that you are and to be true, genuine, and authentic. We grow and learn to shine our light with Love and compliments. Have a glorious existence. Peace.”
There’s no word on why the post was removed, but Santana did replace it with another one that seems to be related to the subject. “the energy of consciousness generates its own kind,” he writes. “hate begets hate love begets love.”
Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
