Carlos Santana has apologized for making anti-transgender comments during a New Jersey concert back in July.
The iconic guitarist sparked renewed outrage when video of the event resurfaced on social media capturing him making his remarks.
"When God made you and me, before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are," he is heard saying in the clip.
"Later on when you grow up, and 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," he continued, adding, "whatever you wanna do in the closet, that’s your business, I’m OK with that."
The backlash prompted Santana to release a since-deleted apology Thursday on Facebook.
"I am sorry for my insensitive comments," he wrote, according to CNN.
"They don’t reflect that I want to honor and respect all person’s (sic) 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," his statement continued.
Santana added that his "personal goal" is to "honor and respect all person’s (sic) ideals and beliefs whether they are LGBTQ or not. This is the planet of free will and we have all been given this gift."
"I will now pursue this goal to be happy and have fun, and for everyone to believe what they want and follow in your hearts without fear," he wrote.
"It takes courage to grow and glow in the light that you are and to be true, genuine, and authentic. We grow and learn to shine our light with Love and compliments," Santana concluded.
By Friday morning, the post no longer appeared on his Facebook page but in a follow-up post, he wrote, "the energy of consciousness generates its own kind. hate begets hate. love begets love."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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