Barbra Streisand releases pro-LGBT anthem to protest Trump
Barbra Streisand has dropped an LGBT anthem, in a not-so-guarded F.U. to President Trump.
The legendary gay icon released her thirty-sixth studio album, Walls, on November 2.
The title of the record is a direct reference to the Trump administration’s border wall policy, and many of the tracks bear an overtly-political nature.
One of the album tracks, “Love’s Never Wrong,” is a pro-LGBT anthem that seeks to push back against hateful rhetoric.
Barbra Streisand speaks onstage at the women’s march in Los Angeles on January 21, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Emma McIntyre/Getty)
Speaking to Canadian outlet Maclean’s, Streisand confirmed the meaning behind the track.
She said: “He’s trying to divide our nation and the world. That’s what’s so scary. Diversity is proven to be our strength.
“To say people are how they are because of how they were born—it’s that thinking that is wrong. I believe different shouldn’t be judged by any other kind of meter.”
She added: “Statistically, in terms of genome studies, people have 99.9 percent of the same genetics. We are alike. We all want peace and happiness and family and love and understanding.”
The track’s lyrics include: “Love’s always right/Love always knows the way/When some are just too blind to see the light/ You know what’s true/Be true to you/Be proud, be strong/‘Cause love’s never wrong.”
Maclean’s noted that the release comes after an October 21 report that the Trump administration is drawing up regressive new regulations that would define gender as a person’s fixed biological sex at birth, effectively banning recognition of transgender people.
The US Justice Department under Jeff Sessions has also reversed work on LGBT+ civil rights protections launched under the Obama administration, filing court cases supporting the ‘freedom to discriminate’ against same-sex couples.
Streisand, 76, has been a beloved gay icon for decades.
The Funny Girl star has a gay son, Jason Gould.
The musical star campaigned alongside Hillary Clinton in 2016, headlining LGBT+ fundraisers and even performing a re-purposed cover of Broadway anthem “Send in the Clowns” taking aim at Trump.
Barbra Streisand (Joe Scarnici/Getty)
Streisand is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with more than 68.5 million albums in the US and a total of 150 million albums and singles sold worldwide.
In 2014, Streisand entered a spat with outspoken HIV/AIDS activist Larry Kramer, when he accused her of being “uncomfortable” with gay sex.
Kramer had blamed Streisand for the lengthy delay in securing a screen adaptation of his theatrical AIDS crisis drama The Normal Heart, claiming production was held up because of creative conflicts with Streisand, who held the rights to the adaption.
Streisand accused Kramer of “misrepresenting” her feelings, saying: “As a filmmaker, I have always looked for new and exciting ways to do love scenes, whether they’re about heterosexuals or homosexuals.
“It’s a matter of taste, not gender. I was trying to reach a large audience, and I wanted them to root for these two men to get married.”
A film version of The Normal Heart was released in 2014 on HBO, 29 years after the play of the same name.
