SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Twisted Sister’s 1980s rock classic, “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” has been dropped as the unofficial anthem of this year’s SF Pride Parade & Celebration in San Francisco following a controversial tweet from the band’s lead singer, the festival confirmed to Nexstar’s KRON.
The festival was set to officially announce the song as Pride’s “unofficial rallying cry” and Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider was set to perform the song on the festival’s main stage.
However, the flamboyant rocker’s relationship with the festival fell apart after Snider tweeted his support for a statement by KISS frontman Paul Stanley that was widely called transphobic.
On Sunday, Stanley tweeted a lengthy statement which read in part, “With many children having no real sense of sexuality or sexual experiences caught up in the ‘pleasure’ of using pronouns and saying what they identify with, some adults confuse wrongly teaching acceptance with normalization and encouragement of a situation that has been a struggle for those who are truly affected and turned it into a sad and dangerous fashion.
The tweet prompted a controversial response, with many members of the right-wing media praising Stanley for his stance. Others called the tweet anti-trans and accused Stanley of mislabeling gender-affirming care as a “game.”
Others, like Offspring guitarist Noodles, pointed to the irony of someone like Stanley, “who wore high heels, makeup and teased hair his entire career”, questioning the care claiming the gender.
On Monday, Snider weighed in on the debate, retweet Stanley and saying, “You know what? There was a time when I “felt pretty” too. Glad my parents didn’t jump to rash conclusions! Well said, @PaulStanleyLive.
Snider’s expressed support for Stanley led SF Pride to re-evaluate its relationship with the singer, who, like Stanley, was also known to wear makeup and sport a flamboyant look on stage.
“Ultimately, SF Pride and Dee have mutually agreed to part ways,” the festival said in a statement. “We appreciate Dee coming to the table.”
Read SF Pride’s full statement below:
San Francisco Pride was set to announce Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” as the unofficial rallying cry for this year’s SF Pride Parade & Celebration, with frontman Dee Snider performing the song on our center stage. Dee has always been a strong supporter of LGBTQ+ rights.
However, when we were informed of the Tweeter in which Dee voiced her support for Kiss’ Paul Stanley’s transphobic statement, we were heartbroken and angry. The message perpetuated by this tweet casts doubt on the ability of young trans people to identify themselves with their gender.
Transgender people, especially transgender women and children of color, are disproportionately affected by hate and violence. And with transphobia proliferating and becoming more and more enshrined in law across the country, we must stand up for those most affected among us.
We mutually agreed to go our separate ways, but appreciate that Dee sees this as a teachable moment and a reminder that even allies need to be educated to ensure they’re not casually promoting transphobia.
To all our allies – we want to call you – not call you.
This year’s SF Pride celebration will take place June 24-25 with the annual Pride Parade set for Saturday, June 25.
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