WASHINGTON (TND) — A self-described LGBT+-owned cosmetics brand has ended a partnership with rock performer Alice Cooper after he criticized gender transition procedures for minors.
Vampyre Cosmetics cut ties with Cooper earlier this month after the singer called "cases of transgender" a "fad” in an interview with music blog Stereogum.
“I’m understanding that there are cases of transgender, but I’m afraid that it’s also a fad, and I’m afraid there’s a lot of people claiming to be this just because they want to be that,” Cooper said in the interview. “I find it wrong when you’ve got a six-year-old kid who has no idea. He just wants to play, and you’re confusing him telling him, ‘Yeah, you’re a boy, but you could be a girl if you want to be.’”
Cooper went on to say that individuals should "at least become sexually aware" before "they start thinking about if they're a boy or a girl."
In response, Vampyre pulled the plug on the deal in solidarity with the LGBT community.
“In light of recent statements by Alice Cooper we will no longer be doing a makeup collaboration,” the brand wrote. “We stand with all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and believe everyone should have access to healthcare. All pre-order sales will be refunded.”
Social media users took to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to fire back at the brand for the move.
“The intolerant and bigoted company, @VampyreCosmetics , apparently nixed their account after saying that experimental, medically unnecessary surgeries on young kids constitutes ‘health care,’” radio host Dana Loesch said.
“No clue who Vampyre Cosmetics are, but to cancel a contract based on what Alice Cooper is reported to have said indicates to me that they are not a very ethical company,” another user said. “Values such as commitment, meaning, adhere to a promise made is not something to treat with indifference.”
As of Tuesday, Vampyre's X page no longer appears on the platform.
READ MORE | Singer backtracks on transgender comments after social media backlash
On the company’s website, its owners state that they are “queer, disabled and proudly neurodiverse women.” Elsewhere on the site, they also state that they “believe gender is a construct and has no place in our business. We refuse to gender our products because they are for everyone.”
Information on the collaboration with Cooper still appears on Vampyre’s website, now with an addendum stating that the company has since dropped the deal.
Vampyre did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The National Desk Tuesday.
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