Queen guitarist Brian May hit back after his comments about removing gender categories from the Brit Awards sparked controversy, claiming he was “ambushed” by a reporter, who then “twisted” this he had said.

In November, the Brit Awards announced that they would be removing the separate male and female categories for solo artists and international solo artists. The categories will instead be replaced by artist of the year and international artist of the year.

They said the changes were to honor artists “purely for their music and their work, rather than how they choose to identify themselves or as others can see them” and were part of “the commitment of the event to evolve the show to be as inclusive and relevant as possible “. possible.”

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Asked about the decision at the ITV Palooza event, May told the Mirror, “It’s a decision that was made without enough thought. A lot of things work very well and can be left alone.

“I’m so sick of it that people try to change things without thinking about the long term consequences. Some of these things are an improvement, some are not. “

The artist had other thoughts on the state of the creative world right now, calling it an “atmosphere of fear everywhere because people are afraid to say how they really think.”

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He clarified, “I think so many people are thinking, ‘Wait, that’s not quite right.’ But they dare not say anything. Eventually there will be some kind of explosion.

Speaking about the culture of diversity today, he believes that a lack of diversity shouldn’t be such a big problem.

“Freddie was from Zanzibar, he was not British, he was not white as such – nobody cares, nobody ever discussed it,” he said. “He was a musician, he was our friend, he was our brother. We didn’t have to stop and think Oh, now should we work with him? Is it the right color? Does he have the right sexual propensity? None of that happened, and now I find it scary that you have to be so calculating about everything. “

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May is so committed to the subject that he thinks Queen would have struggled as a band today.

“We would have to have people of different colors and different genders and we would have to have a trans [person], “he explained.” You know, life doesn’t have to be like that. We can be separate and different.

May was criticized for the latter remark, and he took to Instagram to post a response claiming that he “was ambushed and completely trapped by a reporter during the recent ITV event.”

This, he added, “has led to a whole bunch of press articles making it sound like I’m hostile to trans people. Nothing could be further from the truth. My words were subtly twisted. I should have known rather than talking to those predatory news hijackers.

May concluded, “Our sincere apologies to all who have been hurt by the stories. My heart is open as always to humans of all colors, creeds, genders and sexualities, shapes and sizes – and all creatures. We all deserve respect and an equal place in this world. And I thank all of you who have come together to defend me over the past few days. It means so much that you trust me. With love – Bri.