Hozier waves trans flag during powerful performance of Take Me to Church
Irish singer Hozier hoisted a trans flag that a fan threw on stage. (Twitter)
It’s official, Hozier said: “Trans rights!”
During a string of sets at the London Palladium for his 2019 tour, the singer draped himself in the colours of pastel blue, pink and white.
On October 3, a fan tossed a trans Pride flag onto the stage during Hozier’s performance of ‘Nina Cried Power’.
Thrusting it into the air, the star, whose real name is Andrew Hozier-Byrne, hung it behind him for the rest of the gig.
Ending the show with his 2013 hit, ‘Take Me to Church’, he grabbed the flag again and hoisted it up high to the cheering of the packed-out venue.
The song’s music video featured two men in a same-sex relationship, highlighting the injustices and discrimination against the LGBT+ community.
Hozier fan: ‘The reaction of the audience was absolutely amazing.’
Filip Mikulski, a queer artist currently studying at King’s College London, decided to celebrate his birthday by seeing one of his favourite artists.
As he queued outside the Palladium, tucked behind the bustle of Oxford Street, Mikulski had no idea that the trans Pride flag in his pocket would end up at the stage beside Hozier himself.
Inside the venue, flag in hand, he felt lucky and threw it into the crowded concert.
https://twitter.com/brainyraccoons/status/1180081255330791424
Mikulski had the flag returned to him by venue security, with the flag having stage tape stuck to it still.
https://twitter.com/gayIlenhaaI/status/1179885239855960070
The 25-year-old later told PinkNews that seeing one of his musical idols on stage with the flag he brought made him feel “ecstatic”.
“Hozier is highly political,” he explained, “both in his music and his public presence, and seeing him take a stand with the trans community really means a lot.
“He didn’t have to pick up the flag that was thrown at his feet during ‘Nina Cried Power’, but he did and kept it on stage.
“People went wild. The reaction of the audience was absolutely amazing, the cheering so loud I could barely hear the music over the crowd’s noise. I was floating.”
‘This is what an ally looks like!’
Moreover, the singer held a lesbian Pride flag at a gig in Edinburgh last month. It was a sight that, considering he once called his lesbian fanbase “amazing” in a Tumblr Q&A session, sent everyone into overdrive.
HOZIER REMAINS THE ONLY MAN TO EVER EXIST pic.twitter.com/K9NJQRVYiB
— jess (@skysettoburst) October 3, 2019
Mikulski was inspired by that act, and “wanted the trans community to share in that joy”.
But it seems the track ‘Trans Lives Matter’ was on repeat for Hozier, after a second trans Pride flag ended up on the stage the following evening.
oh that's just mr hozier with the trans pride flag is all pic.twitter.com/YKxqGQ1h5Y— rhys 🐿 | la que puede puede (@Smartinis) October 4, 2019
Hozier is screaming trans rights pic.twitter.com/giM1oCxd3g
— I have old bones ? (@jlallenby) October 6, 2019
During his closing number, fans were in a frenzy as the 29-year-old Irish performer wore the flag as a cape and an LGBT+ Pride flag was hung on his mic stand.
As one fan said: “This is what an ally looks like.”
HOZIER SAID TRANS LIVES MATTER pic.twitter.com/xB2UL8dkTv— d e v ✨ (@sapphicmoons) October 4, 2019
‘Three days on a drunken sin’ (I really really hope hozier knows how much it meant to us when he picked up the flag) pic.twitter.com/IomO8GpFZ6
— 🍂🍄 hedge 🧙♂️🍁 (@st_hedge) October 7, 2019
How Hozier hoisted the flags during ‘Take Me to Church’ meant a lot to Mikulski, who said the song is “perhaps the strongest example” of the artist being an ally.
“He sees our fight and our struggles, and stands among us, not against us,” he added.
“It is hard for me to not see him as an LGBT+ ally when all his actions show that he cares about the community, and supports us and our actions.”
