Emma Bunton, everyone’s favourite Spice Girl, comes out swinging for trans kids
Emma Bunton comes out as trans ally. (Getty/PinkNews)
Spice Girls legend Emma Bunton, is proving herself the ultimate ally after coming out unequivocally in support of LGBTQ+ rights on social media.
As a member of the biggest female pop group of the 90s – the Spice Girls – Bunton and her bandmates Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice), Mel C (Sporty Spice) and Mel B (Scary Spice) have cultivated a devoted queer fanbase and been vocal about their affinity with the LGBTQ+ community for almost 30 years.
In a time when LGBTQ+ rights are more under threat than ever, celebrities coming out as vocal allies for the community has never been more important. In the US, states are attempting to enforce drag bans, undermine the identity of trans youth, censor LGBTQ+ conversations in the classroom and follow the lead of Florida’s incredibly harmful “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
And things are not far behind in the UK as the trans community continues to be attacked by the right-wing, protestors try to shut down Drag Queen Story Hour events and petitions are set up to stifle LGBTQ+ education in schools.
Enter Emma Bunton, pop sensation, who is telling us what we want, what we really really want. Taking to her Instagram story on Monday (8 May) she reshared a post from trans ally and Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis’ own Instagram. The image spoke for itself, plastered with the powerful statement: “I will say gay and I will protect trans kids.”
The proclamation feels particularly timely in the UK where new government guidance is being drawn up by the Department of Education that will make teachers forcibly out trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming youth to their parents.
Bunton follows in the footsteps of a swathe of celebrities who have spoken up for LGBTQ+ rights in recent months including Dannii Minogue, Michael Bublé, Daniel Radcliffe, Melanie Lynskey, Charlotte Church and Pedro Pascal – to name a few.
It’s not the first time Baby Spice has stepped up for the community with a much-needed nod. In April 2019 she revealed the backstory to the inclusive lyric change in their hit single “2 Become 1”.
The album version goes: “Any deal that we endeavour/ boys and girls feel good together” whereas in the official music video and updated single version they sing: “Once again if we endeavour/love will bring us back together.
Explaining why they adapted the lyrics, Bunton recalled: “We changed the lyrics in a hotel. We were travelling and we were like, ‘Absolutely, it needs to be changed.’ We felt like it needed to be more inclusive.”
In the same interview she shared she feels “so thankful” to the LGBTQ+ community for their longstanding support and, echoing fellow pop icon Dannii Minogue, explained why performing at London’s hottest gay bag G-A-Y is “so special”.
“When I write or when I perform, it feels on such a more open, different level. It’s so much more inclusive and special. Whenever you do G-A-Y there’s just this energy from the crowd that is like no other. You can ask any artist that plays there, it’s just so special,” she said.
