Renowned American singer Shaffer Chimere Smith, widely known as Ne-Yo, has voiced his perplexity regarding the practice of parents allowing their children to make significant gender-related decisions at a young age.
In a recent interview with former video model Gloria Velez on VladTV, as reported byTribune Online, the artist behind hits like “Miss Independent” shared his reflections on the evolving dynamics of parenting and the concerns he holds about certain choices being made.
Addressing the issue, Ne-Yo remarked, “I feel like the parents have almost forgotten what the role of a parent is.” He went on to question the rationale behind parents permitting their young children to make life-altering decisions regarding their gender identity.
The artist posed a scenario, saying, “If your little boy comes up to you and says, ‘Daddy I wanna be a girl,’ you just let him rock with that?”
Ne-Yo added, “Where did he get that? If you let this 5-year-old little boy eat candy all day, he’s gonna do that. Like, when did it become a good idea to let a 5-year-old, a 6-year-old, a 12-year-old make a life-changing decision?
“When did that happen? Like, I don’t understand that.”
The three-time Grammy winner, age 43, said that he comes from “an era” where a “man was a man and a woman was a woman.”
“There was two genders and that’s just how I rocked,” he said. “You could identify as a goldfish if you feel like, that ain’t my business. It becomes my business when you try to make me play the game.
“I’m not gonna call you a goldfish.”
Ne-Yo is the father of seven children with two mothers.
