The singer was slammed for making lesbophobic comments
BY AIMEE BUTLER, IMAGE BY MADE IT OUT MEDIA/YOUTUBE
Betty Who is an Australian singer-songwriter who has made waves among the queer community for all of the wrong reasons this week.
She released her debut hit single Somebody Loves You in 2013 and has since become a global pop sensation, also starring as Persephone in the Broadway musical Hadestown in 2023.
Betty identifies as a queer woman and uses she/they pronouns, amassing a massive LGBTQIA+ audience over the years.
Her most recent album Out Of The Darkness sends a message of still trying to have fun in the face of so much political distress and unrest, something quite crucial for the queer community in the current political climate. Betty has stated she wants to “create an environment where we can celebrate in spite of what is going on in the world” and has promoted her recent shows as a place where both her and her fans can “let go of a little bit of our dread”.
But here is where it gets sticky.
Recently appearing on the Made It Out podcast with Mal Golwenke, Betty talked about life with her husband, sexual fluidity and what it is like as a queer woman dating someone of the opposite sex. She expressed sympathy when asked about fellow queer artists, Fletcher and Jojo Siwa, who have both announced their relationships with men this year.
Betty spoke of the difficulties of becoming “representative of something to other people, and then you change, or you are following your heart, and then that means other people feel that they are not represented anymore”, adding “the pressure of that is immense”.
Fans were quick to reprimand the singer online, noting the harmful hypocrisy and ignorance in her comments. During the podcast, Betty emphasised that “it shouldn’t be illegal for you to fall in love”, referencing her relationship with a man. One fan condemned this, writing: “She really said, ‘It shouldn’t be illegal for you to fall in love’ as if gay marriage isn’t still illegal in so many places.”
Queer artist, King Princess, also took to social media to voice their frustration with the take. They criticised Betty’s attempt at trying to create a narrative in which choosing to be with a man is difficult nowadays, with King Princess arguing that queer people have a right to be disappointed by someone who has consistently used the queer community as part of their brand.
“You are not a victim because you started dating a man, and queer people are disappointed in you because you used the queer community to market your music. They feel betrayed. That’s fair, you have to live with that.”
They went on to say, “We live in a country where our rights are being stripped from us every day, and you think it’s important to go on a podcast and talk about how hard it is to be in a heteronormative relationship?”
And that’s not all.
Betty then referenced queer artist and icon Reneé Rapp when discussing the fluidity of queerness. She said, “Reneé Rapp is like, ‘You’ll never catch me dating a man’. Like, ‘Go off, queen. I love that for you!’ But I also hold space for her in 10 years if she goes, ‘Oops, I met the love of my life and it’s this man, I didn’t mean to.’ It’s like, that’s okay!”
Fans slammed her words as “lesbophobic”, reinforcing the idea that lesbianism is a phase and that people will eventually meet and fall in love with the “right guy”. While sexuality is indeed fluid, and people should be free to explore and identify however they feel, the idea that queer people should not rule out a straight relationship diminishes lesbianism and other queer identities as a simple “stop” on the way to a “heteronormative happy ending”.
Following the backlash, Betty has since publicly apologised, admitting she “poorly articulated my experience and unintentionally reinforced ideas that were harmful or dismissive, particularly toward the lesbian community”. She also stated, “The LGBTQ+ community is my home” and vowed to “do better” in the future.
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