“This post is giving assault victim coping mechanism rationalizing their abuse. Get help!” the user wrote, sharing an image of a tissue box reading, “It’s okay to go to therapy!”
“Well, being gay and transgender is not actually a natural thing,” Banks replied. “At all, it’s a trauma response. Science lied to you all and told you you were normal, but being homosexual — and on the more extreme end, transgender — is in fact a trauma response. No one is born gay, and no one is born in the wrong body. You guys have mental disorders that science is doing you a major disservice by not medicating. Bet you didn’t know that.”
In fact, a 2019 study found no single gene determines sexual orientation and that DNA cannot predict who will be gay or heterosexual. The study also concluded that neither biology, psychology, nor life experiences alone cause same-sex attraction.
Banks’ post drew swift criticism, with one X user writing, “You outdo your own dumbassery every time you tweet. It’s actually impressive.”
“Attraction to the same sex and living outside assigned gender roles aren’t modern concepts,” one user wrote. “They’ve existed for as long as humans have recorded history, across cultures and centuries.”
“It’s like you are purposely trying as hard as possible to be the most unlikable person in music,” added another.
This is not the first time Banks has taken aim at the LGBTQ community. In 2015, she called a Delta flight attendant a “fucking f****t” during an altercation on a plane, later defending herself by claiming she was a victim of racism.
In 2020, Banks shared a meme claiming gay men were “appropriating horse culture” by using harnesses, lubricant, and ketamine. She defended the post by saying users had mocked her Yoruba religious practices tied to the goddess Yemayá.
Later that year, Banks was suspended from Twitter for calling for an end to what she described as “luxury transgender healthcare.”
In 2021, Black LGBTQ activists urged Instagram to suspend Banks’ account after a transphobic tirade. She claimed that if society could “do mental gymnastics” to accept trans women, she should be accepted as Jewish for marrying artist Ryder Ripps.
In another post, Banks called trans women “just hot gay boys with beat faces and plastic surgery,” adding they were “gay boys on hormones using male aggression to force their ways into women’s spaces.”
At its annual reveal party, the Capital Pride Alliance unveiled the theme for 2026 Capital Pride: "Exist. Resist. Have the Audacity!"
The theme is rooted in what the organization calls "the undeniable truth that our existence is not up for debate," and serves as a call for the community to "live loudly and proudly, stand firm against injustice and erasure, and embody the collective strength that has always defined the LGBTQ+ community."
"This year's theme is both a declaration and a demand," said Ryan Bos, CEO and president of the Capital Pride Alliance, in a statement. "'Exist. Resist. Have the Audacity!' reflects the resilience of our community and our responsibility to protect the progress we've made. As we look toward our nation's 250th anniversary, we affirm that LGBTQ+ people have always been and always will be a part of the United States' history, and we will continue shaping its future with strength and resolve."
Daniel McGee, a 26-year-old from Springfield, Oregon, has been sentenced to 151 months, or just over 12-and-a-half years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a federal hate crime for attempting to kill a man he met through the LGBTQ dating app Grindr.
After serving his prison sentence, McGee will be required to complete five years of supervised release. He must also pay a $100 assessment and $943.95 in restitution to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Account, according to court documents.
Ali Darwich, a gay Muslim influencer based in Berlin, Germany, recently brought together friends of different faiths and backgrounds for an inclusive Ramadan Iftar, using the meal to send a message of tolerance and acceptance.
A 33-year-old German citizen with Palestinian and Lebanese roots -- known by his handle @alifragt_, or "Ali asks," on Instagram -- Darwich invited 15 friends from different cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and religions to the Iftar, the evening meal during Ramadan, when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset for 29 to 30 days.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
Bisexual rapper Azealia Banks sparked backlash after posting on X that being gay or transgender is “not natural,” calling both “a trauma response.”
Banks made the comment in response to an X user who had replied to a since-deleted post.
“This post is giving assault victim coping mechanism rationalizing their abuse. Get help!” the user wrote, sharing an image of a tissue box reading, “It’s okay to go to therapy!”
“Well, being gay and transgender is not actually a natural thing,” Banks replied. “At all, it’s a trauma response. Science lied to you all and told you you were normal, but being homosexual — and on the more extreme end, transgender — is in fact a trauma response. No one is born gay, and no one is born in the wrong body. You guys have mental disorders that science is doing you a major disservice by not medicating. Bet you didn’t know that.”
In fact, a 2019 study found no single gene determines sexual orientation and that DNA cannot predict who will be gay or heterosexual. The study also concluded that neither biology, psychology, nor life experiences alone cause same-sex attraction.
Banks’ post drew swift criticism, with one X user writing, “You outdo your own dumbassery every time you tweet. It’s actually impressive.”
“Attraction to the same sex and living outside assigned gender roles aren’t modern concepts,” one user wrote. “They’ve existed for as long as humans have recorded history, across cultures and centuries.”
“It’s like you are purposely trying as hard as possible to be the most unlikable person in music,” added another.
This is not the first time Banks has taken aim at the LGBTQ community. In 2015, she called a Delta flight attendant a “fucking f****t” during an altercation on a plane, later defending herself by claiming she was a victim of racism.
In 2020, Banks shared a meme claiming gay men were “appropriating horse culture” by using harnesses, lubricant, and ketamine. She defended the post by saying users had mocked her Yoruba religious practices tied to the goddess Yemayá.
Later that year, Banks was suspended from Twitter for calling for an end to what she described as “luxury transgender healthcare.”
In 2021, Black LGBTQ activists urged Instagram to suspend Banks’ account after a transphobic tirade. She claimed that if society could “do mental gymnastics” to accept trans women, she should be accepted as Jewish for marrying artist Ryder Ripps.
In another post, Banks called trans women “just hot gay boys with beat faces and plastic surgery,” adding they were “gay boys on hormones using male aggression to force their ways into women’s spaces.”