Róisín Murphy set for highest-charting album of her career after puberty blockers row

Irish singer Róisín Murphy, who came under fire for comments she made about puberty blockers in August, is on track to see her new album Hit Parade become her highest-charting yet.

The 50-year-old singer-songwriter faced backlash after a Facebook comment opposing gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In the resurfaced comment, she described puberty blockers as “f**ked” and said that “little mixed up kids” needed to be “protected”.

After the comments made headlines, the “Ramalama” singer issued a statement saying she was “sorry” that her remarks “have been hurtful to so many of you” and that she would “bow out of this conversation within the public domain.”

Less than two weeks later, on Friday, 8 September, Murphy released her sixth solo album Hit Parade – and accoring to the Official Charts, the record is currently on course looks set to become her first-ever UK top 10 album.

Hit Parade is currently at number two in the UK’s Official Albums Chart behind Olivia Rodrigo’s second album GUTS, with the final placement set to be announced this Friday (15 September).

Moloko singer Murphy had previously cultivated a devoted LGBTQ+ fanbase, becoming a regular performer at queer events and a public advocate of drag culture.

Despite early reports that Murphy’s record label Ninja Tune would be donating proceeds from Hit Parade to trans charities, the electro-pop artist has denied the claims.

After one fan asked how she felt about her “label saying it was going to donate to pro-trans charities”, she replied: “Well, those reports were unconfirmed by the label. They have made no official statement whatsoever and they are not intending to donate proceeds from the record to charity. I checked!”

LGBTQ+ fans have expressed their disappointment at Murphy’s remarks and their impact on their fandom on social media.

“I’ve been a huge Roisin Murphy fan for 20 years and I can’t even bring myself to listen to what is supposed to be her magnum opus. To say that I am heartbroken by all of this would be an understatement,” one person wrote.

Róisín Murphy is the latest in a string of musicians to come under fire for controversial comments around the trans community in recent weeks.

In separate incidents in August, R&B singer Ne-Yo publicly criticised gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth, while rock singer Alice Cooper, who built a career on their gender non-conforming looks, branded it a “fad” in a lengthy statement.

Meanwhile, Carlos Santana apologised last month after a resurfaced video from one of his concerts showed him telling trans people to stay “in the closet”.