Alice Cooper‘s new makeup products, released in collaboration with Vampyre Cosmetics, have been dropped from the cosmetics brand’s website in light of the rock singer’s recent anti-trans comments.
In an interview published by Stereogum earlier this week, Cooper shared his opinions about best-practice medical care for transgender youth, saying that he was “afraid that it’s also a fad.” Using common anti-trans talking points to elaborate, he said he feels children are not mature enough to make decisions about their gender identity.
“I find it wrong when you’ve got a 6-year-old kid who has no idea. He just wants to play, and you’re confusing him telling him, ‘Yeah, you’re a boy, but you could be a girl if you want to be,’” he said. “I mean, if you identify as a tree … I’m going, ‘Come on! What are we in, a Kurt Vonnegut novel?’ It’s so absurd, that it’s gone now to the point of absurdity,” Cooper said. Research shows that gender-affirming care significantly reduces rates of depression and suicide among transgender youth.
He also shared anti-trans rhetoric about access to public bathrooms, claiming that allowing transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity would lead to violent crimes. “A guy can walk into a woman’s bathroom at any time and just say, ‘I just feel like I’m a woman today’ and have the time of his life in there,” Cooper said. “He’s just taking advantage of that situation … Somebody’s going to get raped.”
In a statement posted on social media on Friday (Aug. 25), Vampyre Cosmetics wrote, “In light of recent statements by Alice Cooper we will no longer be doing a makeup collaboration. We stand with all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and believe everyone should have access to healthcare. All pre-order sales will be refunded.”
Vampyre Cosmetics x Alice Cooper Makeup Collection products have been completely removed from the company’s website.
The collection, which had launched its presale on Aug. 14 and was announced on Cooper’s official website, was said to “exude Alice’s style” with guitar- and amp-shaped makeup palettes and microphone-styled lipsticks. It also featured “a new version of Alice Cooper’s iconic Whiplash mascara, a unisex product originally created to ‘Liberate Your Eyes.’”
Vampyre Cosmetics is described as a “women owned, disabled owned and LGBT+ owned” company on the “About Us” page on its website. “Our products are vegan, cruelty free and talc free. They are also super long lasting as they were specifically formulated for stage and screen.”
