TED NUGENT Praises ALICE COOPER And CARLOS SANTANA For 'Showing Courage' With Polarizing Anti-Trans Comments

During the latest episode of "The Nightly Nuge", a news-style clip in which Ted Nugent offers his take on the news of our world every night, the legendary rocker weighed in on the recent comments made by Alice Cooper and Carlos Santana that were perceived by many as being anti-trans. Ted said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I, number one, love both of the gentlemen madly. I mean, talking about enriching our lives. Alice Cooper — great, great fans, great musicians, great song, great entertainer. Vaudeville with rock and roll. Who doesn't love vaudeville with rock and roll? Alice Cooper's a dear friend. Plus he's becoming more and more, shall I say, Christian over the years, which may have motivated him to stand up against anti-Christian stuff, which is the drag queen scourge, where they sing to little boys and girls, 'I love it when you kiss me where I pee.' That is just perverted, that is sinful, that is dangerous, that is criminal, that is horrible. And I think Alice Cooper showed some courage when he stood up and said the self-evident truth, which is an indication of our cultural abandonment in 2023, that we have to actually have to mention that men can't get pregnant and that women can't actually have a penis erect in their life, unless it's one of ours. The point being that Alice Cooper finally stepped up and admitted the truth that there's only men and women, which I've been saying on stage, which is why my audiences every night are so special because they're only made up of men and women. This is a beautiful acknowledgement to why my music is so sexy."

Nugent continued: "And Carlos Santana. I love Carlos. He has enriched our lives with his miraculous music. A dedicated, loving, peaceful man. But he also showed courage recently when he acknowledged — that we have to acknowledge there's only men and women is truly an embarrassing time for mankind. But Carlos, I love you. Good work. And Alice Cooper, I love you. Good work."

Cosmetics company Vampyre Cosmetics recently called off its partnership with Alice after Cooper called gender-affirming care "a fad" and claimed that discourse surrounding the trans community has "gone now to the point of absurdity."

Less than two weeks after Cooper signed a deal with Vampyre Cosmetics — which markets spooky and gothic-themed makeup, lipsticks, palettes and lashes — the 75-year-old singer was dropped by the company over his comments in an interview with the site Stereogum.

"In light of recent statements by Alice Cooper we will no longer be doing a makeup collaboration," the company wrote on Instagram in announcing it was cutting ties with Cooper.

"We stand with all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and believe everyone should have access to healthcare. All pre-order sales will be refunded."

In the aforementioned interview, Alice said: "I'm understanding that there are cases of transgender, but I'm afraid that it's also a fad. I find it wrong when you've got a six-year-old kid who has no idea. 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.'"

Cooper also echoed false claims proliferated by anti-trans politicians and activists online that kids these days are identifying as cats and using litter boxes.

"I think that's so confusing to a kid. It's even confusing to a teenager," he said. "You're still trying to find your identity, and yet here's this thing going on, saying, 'Yeah, but you can be anything you want. You can be a cat if you want to be.' I mean, if you identify as a tree… And 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."

Alice went on to repeat the false belief that transgender women pose a threat to cis women and girls in public restrooms.

"I can see somebody really taking advantage of this, though," Cooper said. "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, and he's not in the least bit… He's just taking advantage of that situation. Well, that's going to happen. Somebody's going to get raped, and the guy's going to say, 'Well, I felt like a girl that day, and then I felt like a guy.' Where do you draw this line?"

Cooper also blasted "the whole woke thing," wondering: "Who's making the rules? Is there a building somewhere in New York where people sit down every day and say, 'Okay, we can't say 'mother' now. We have to say 'birthing person.' Get that out on the wire right now?' Who is this person that’s making these rules? I don't get it," Alice said, adding: "I'm not being old school about it. I'm being logical about it."

Vampyre Cosmetics describes itself as a "proudly women owned, disabled owned and LGBT+ owned" company whose "products are vegan, cruelty free and talc free."

"We are queer, disabled, and proudly neurodiverse women working round the clock to bring you cosmetics so uniquely packaged… you exclaim 'Holy Crap!' when you see it," Karen Holton, the managing owner of the company, said.

Trans businesswoman Wynne Nowland wrote in Newsweek in June: "There is no statistical evidence to support the idea that women or children are unsafe with trans-inclusive bathroom policies, nor is there any evidence to support that there are men dressing as women to gain access to bathrooms for nefarious purposes."

Last week, Carlos Santana apologized for his "insensitive" comments about the trans community. The 76-year-old musician faced criticism when a video of him making anti-transgender comments during a concert in New Jersey in July resurfaced on social media.

"When God made you and me, before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are," the guitarist is seen saying in the clip.

He continued: "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.”

"Whatever you wanna do in the closet, that's your business, I'm okay with that," Santana added, before referencing his friendship with his "brother Dave Chapelle," who also faced criticism for anti-LGBTQ comments made in his 2021 Netflix comedy special "The Closer".

The criticism Santana faced after the video went viral prompted him to release a statement on his Facebook page, where he wrote: "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."

KISS frontman Paul Stanley has been criticized for describing gender-affirming care for kids as a "sad and dangerous fad" and TWISTED SISTER's Dee Snider was consequently dropped off of the lineup for San Francisco Pride for seemingly agreeing with Paul.