What did Dee Snider do? Paul Stanley tweet controversy explained as singer gets axed from San Francisco Pride festival

Dee Snider, the former lead singer of the heavy metal band Twisted Siter, has been canceled from performing at the San Francisco Pride festival. The festival organizers decided to cut the singer after he liked one tweet by singer Paul Stanley, who slammed s** transition for kids.

Dee’s 1984 hit track We’re Not Gonna Take It was initially announced to be the theme song for the 2023 event. He was also expected to perform at the festival. However, after Dee liked and retweeted Paul’s statement, festival organizers changed their decision.

Dee Snider retweeted Paul Stanley's tweet titled "My thoughts on what I’m seeing"

Paul Stanley, the co-lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss, made a debatable tweet on April 30. He spoke about his opinion on familiarizing kids with diverse gender identities and the existence of gender-affirming care. However, his negative reaction to the subject raised questions, especially when Dee Snider stated that he agreed with Paul.

Dee responded to people who have been criticizing him on Twitter and pointed to his long record of being a supporter of LGBTQ causes.

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Dee Snider was criticized for supporting Paul Stanley's tweet

Though a few conservatives praised Dee for speaking up about the danger of exposing children to gender transition, the LGBTQ+ community was not pleased. They condemned the singer for queerbaiting for years and called him a "transphobe."

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Paul Transley's tweet about gender-affirming care

The 71-year-old singer-guitarist from Kiss shared an image containing a long message which he titled as:

“My thoughts on what I’m seeing”.

In the narrative, Paul Stanley slammed adults and parents who support trans youth in seeking gender-affirming care. He even called it “sad” and a “dangerous fad.” Paul stated that while certain adults might think that gender reassignment of their children is their choice, he criticized parents for trying to normalize this notion as a natural alternative.

He said that this kind of lifestyle confuses young children and makes them question their s**ual identity.

The controversial tweet by Paul Stanley

Paul Stanley said parents often encourage young boys when they playfully dress up in their sisters’ clothes or girls dress up in their brothers’ clothes. But he criticized the fact that some parents take it upon themselves to lead their children further down the path, which is far from the innocence of their playful dress-up.

Dee Snider’s tweet emerged just as the San Francisco Pride was getting ready to reveal that the festival would prominently feature a Twisted Sister classic during the city’s 53rd annual LGBTQ celebration. SF Pride is also one of the United States’ largest Pride events.

Suzanne Ford, the festival's executive director, said in a statement on Tuesday, May 2, that SF Pride was about to announce We’re Not Gonna Take It as this year’s unofficial rallying cry. She added that Dee Snider was even scheduled to perform the song on their center stage since he had always been vocal about his support for LGBTQ+ rights.

However, their plans changed over the weekend when Dee Snider openly shared similar sentiments to Paul Stanley's tweet. Suzanne added:

“We were heartbroken and angry. The message perpetuated by that tweet casts doubt on young trans people’s ability to self-identify their gender."

Suzanne, who is a transwoman herself, noted the rampant violence and hate that the trans community, especially trans women of color, had to face across the nation. She continued:

“With transphobia proliferating and becoming more and more enshrined in law throughout the country — we have to stand up for the most impacted among us.”

She said that Dee Snider and SF Pride had mutually agreed to part ways. The two-day Pride celebration in San Francisco will be held on June 24 and 25 at the Civic Center Plaza, and the rally will take place along the surrounding neighborhood.