Renowned guitarist Carlos Santana has issued an apology for recent controversial remarks he made during a concert.
A video surfaced on Thursday of Santana making comments during a concert last month in Atlantic City, New Jersey, that many perceived as offensive towards the transgender community.
Santana stated on stage, “When God made you and me, before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are. Later on, when you grow out of it, you see things, and you start believing that you could be something that sounds good, but you know it ain’t right. Because a woman is a woman and a man is a man. That’s it. Whatever you wanna do in the closet, that’s your business. I’m OK with that.”
His remarks were broadcast across numerous media outlets, including Consequence of Sound.
Following the backlash against his comments, the 76-year-old “Smooth” musician issued an apology on Facebook. However, the post appears to have since been deleted.
In the extracted message from the social media platform, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Santana said, “I am sorry for my insensitive comments. They don’t reflect that I want to honor and respect all person’s ideals and beliefs. I realize that what I said hurt people and that was not my intent. I sincerely apologize to the transgender community and everyone I offended.”
On Friday morning, Santana posted a new message that read, “The energy of consciousness generates its own kind. Hate begets hate. Love begets love.”