Róisín Murphy: Irish singer in puberty blockers row
Moloko star voiced concern over the use of medication by transgender children
![Roisin Murphy](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2hmTwxueWsuCBbskqi8jKT-415-80.jpg)
Singer Róisín Murphy released her sixth solo album earlier this month, but it has been overshadowed by her controversial posts on social media.
The Irish musician's latest album, "Hit Parade", has received many positive reviews. However, it "arrives under a cloud of controversy", said NME.
In a post on her private Facebook account in August, which was later circulated on social media, Murphy voiced opposition to the use of puberty blockers by transgender children, saying the practice is "absolutely desolate" and had "big pharma laughing all the way to the bank". She added that "mixed-up kids are vulnerable and need to be protected".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Anticipating a backlash, she wrote: "Please don't call me a terf, please don't keep using that word against women."
The comments "dismayed many within her vast LGBTQ+ fanbase", wrote Laura Snapes in The Guardian, and Murphy later apologised and tweeted she would "bow out" following a deluge of criticism.
The former Moloko lead singer is set to have her "first UK top 10 album" with "Hit Parade" if it "continues to strike a chord with fans", said The Independent.
Who is Róisín Murphy?
Murphy was born in Arklow, southeast Ireland, in 1973. Her family moved to Manchester when she was 12 and returned four years later, leaving Murphy "at her insistence, to live alone in England" at the age of 16, said Caroline Sullivan in The Guardian in 2005. Murphy survived on "housing benefit" and had her "own flat in an old woman's house", she told the paper.
Her "journey to pop stardom" began in Sheffield when she met music producer Mark Brydon, eventually forming the electro-pop band Moloko in the mid-1990s, said the Irish Independent. They wrote "one of the stand-out songs" of the decade in 'Sing it Back' in 1999, which "could be heard everywhere from Inchicore to Ibiza" and "made Murphy a star".
Murphy and Brydon, who had become a couple, split up but the "band lived on until 2003". She released her debut solo album "Ruby Blue" in 2005, which featured a "supremely weird concoction of crank-jazz and flatulent beats", the NME said. Her latest album, her sixth as a solo artist, contains "accessible alt-pop that drifts from gorgeous, featherweight soul to intoxicating dancefloor euphoria and crackly electro balladry".
Murphy lives "in the hills" of Ibiza with her partner Sebastiano Properzi, where the "hedonistic party scene feels far away", wrote Philip Sherburne in Pitchfork. Her new album is her "most wide-ranging" yet, he added, "letting loose both sides of her personality", including a "dead-pan sense of humour" and "zero inhibitions".
Why is she making headlines?
After leaving Moloko, Murphy was "championed by a motley crew of fashionistas and drag queens", said the Irish Independent, and she was "fitting in" once she was "embraced by gay culture". But her recent comments on puberty blockers have left "swathes" of the "sizeable LGTBQ+ quotient" of her fanbase "dismayed", wrote Ben Beaumont-Thomas in The Guardian.
In the aftermath, and the release of the new album, the controversy has continued to make headlines. The Guardian was heavily criticised by some outlets for its review of the album, which gave it five stars and said it was a "masterful album with an ugly stain", while the BBC was accused of using the issue as "the reason the singer has been removed" from a scheduled programme featuring Murphy's music on 6Music, said The Independent.
The BBC denied it was the reason behind the programme's removal, but was accused of "bowing to mindless groupthink" by The Spectator, which also lambasted The Guardian review as "one of the worst" and "shameful".
Murphy spoke out about the use of puberty blockers, which stop children's sex organs developing fully. They can be prescribed to young people with gender dysphoria in an effort to arrest the onset of puberty.
"Physical and psychological side effects of the treatment, including depression and weaker bones, have caused concerns," reported The Telegraph. And the NHS has said they will no longer be routinely prescribed following concerns about their use at the Tavistock gender clinic in London.
Murphy has not commented on the row since her initial apology, when she said making the remarks on Facebook was "deeply unsuitable" and that she would now focus on her work, saying her "true calling is music and music will never exclude any of us".
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Richard Windsor is a freelance writer for The Week Digital. He began his journalism career writing about politics and sport while studying at the University of Southampton. He then worked across various football publications before specialising in cycling for almost nine years, covering major races including the Tour de France and interviewing some of the sport’s top riders. He led Cycling Weekly’s digital platforms as editor for seven of those years, helping to transform the publication into the UK’s largest cycling website. He now works as a freelance writer, editor and consultant.
-
Red Speedo: a 'darkly comic' doping drama
The Week Recommends Lucas Hnath's play stars Finn Cole as a 'reptilian' swimmer determined to win at all costs
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
One Aldwych: where London's creative spirit takes centre stage
The Week Recommends This five-star Covent Garden hotel is the epitome of elegant independence
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Charlotte Dujardin and equestrianism's dark side
In the Spotlight Olympic gold medallist and dressage star's suspension over horse whipping brings abuse in horse sports back into the spotlight
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why Katy Perry's on trial at the 'pop culture Hague'
Talking Point Her new single, an 'attempt' at a 'feminist anthem', has been ferociously slated for retreading dated ground
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Sabrina Carpenter and Spotify conspiracy theories
In the Spotlight Popularity of viral hit Espresso sparks accusations of modern 'payola' and algorithm hijacking by streaming platforms
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Taylor Swift vs. The Beatles: who's bigger?
In the Spotlight With US megastar's 'Eras' tour arriving in Liverpool, comparisons to the Fab Four and Beatlemania abound
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why Japan is clamping down on host clubs
Under The Radar Women flock to bars for attention from male hosts but 'slippery' payment systems leads to huge debts
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Is pop music now too reliant on gossip?
Talking Point Taylor Swift's new album has prompted a flurry of speculation over who she is referring to in her songs
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Best music albums: new releases of 2024
The Week Recommends A round-up of the best pop, dance, indie, classical and rock releases
By The Week UK Published
-
Could Taylor Swift swing the election?
Today's Big Question The pop star has outsized influence — and that extends beyond the music industry
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold Published
-
Why K-pop stars keep relationships hidden
Under The Radar South Korea's £8bn music industry imposes strict rules on its biggest stars
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published