Alice Cooper’s Loose Lips and Anti-Trans Statements Lead To Loss of Cosmetics Deal

Published: August 29, 2023 | Last Updated: August 29, 2023

The Godfather of Shock Rock is shocking for all the wrong reasons these days. Alice Cooper, 75, has lost his partnership with LGBTQ-owned cosmetics brand Vampyre Cosmetics after giving a horribly anti-trans interview with Stereogum. Asked to offer his opinion on anti-trans statements recently made by Paul Stanley of KISS and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, Cooper is catching flack for coming out against gender affirming care for trans youth.

“I find it wrong when you’ve got a 6-year-old kid who has no idea,” Cooper said, according to a story in Billboard. “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.”

Bold words from a man who knows a thing or two about absurdity. Cooper, who was inducted in 2011 to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is known for employing numerous props and stage illusions including baby dolls, dueling swords, electric chairs, fake blood, guillotines and reptiles, to name a few. Now, he’s coming after helpless trans youth and, indeed, the whole so-called “woke” movement that Republicans love to use to fundraise.

“Who’s making the rules?” Cooper asked. “It’s getting to the point now where it’s laughable. If anybody was trying to make a point on this thing, they turned it into a huge comedy. I don’t know one person that agrees with the woke thing.”

Well, Alice, unfortunately for you, the folks over at Vampyre Cosmetics agree with it. On their website, they describe their business as “proudly women owned, disabled owned and LGBT+ owned.” In addition, their Instagram bio says their products are made “for all races, ages and genders.” Vampyre Cosmetic has since removed the product line and any news of the Cooper partnership from its website.

The company was undoubtedly not pleased when Cooper continued to rant and took on the subject of bathroom usage and allowing trans individuals to use the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity. “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.”

Cooper certainly has the right to own outdated opinions, but he is woefully uninformed. Gender-affirming surgery is rare for people under 18, and research shows that trans youth who receive gender-affirming care suffer significantly less depression and suicidality.

Vampyre Cosmetic posted a statement to Instagram condemning Cooper’s comments. “We will no longer be doing a makeup collaboration,” the statement read. “We stand with all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and believe everyone should have access to healthcare.”