Cher expresses fear for trans people ahead of 2024 US election: ‘We’ve got to stand together’

Pop goddess Cher has voiced her concern that Republicans could try to make life even more difficult for trans people in the US.

The 77-year-old “Strong Enough” singer, whose son Chaz Bono is trans, said that it’s essential for her to “stand together” with the trans community as the 2024 presidential election draws nearer. 

Several of the Republican candidates hoping to be put forward for the Presidential race next year have already made their anti-LGBTQ+ stance painfully clear.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis – who introduced the state’s reviled “Don’t Say Gay” bill, outlawed gender-affirming care for trans minors and has prevented trans people from using the toilet that aligns with their gender – is one of the most high profile candidates in the running.

Former president and current indictee Donald Trump has also thrown his hat into the ring, as has his vice president Mike Pence – both of whom have threatened a blanket ban on gender-affirming healthcare if elected.

Meanwhile, Republican states across the US have spent 2023 attempting to introduce hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ laws, aimed at curbing the rights of trans people and drag performers.

Speaking to The Guardian about her upcoming Christmas album, Cher took a moment to reflect on the current climate for trans people.

“It’s something like 500 bills they’re trying to pass,” she said. “I was with two trans girls the other night – and of course my own child. I was saying ‘We’ve got to stand together.’ I don’t know what their eventual plan is for trans people. I don’t put anything past them.”

Cher added that if Donald Trump were to be re-elected, she would flee the US.

“I almost got an ulcer the last time,” she said of the 2016 election. “If he gets in, who knows? This time I will leave.”

Earlier this year, Chaz Bono spoke exclusively to PinkNews about the increasing hostility facing trans people in the US, comparing the situation to the AIDS crisis of the ‘80s and ‘90s.

“It’s really scary,” Bono said. “It’s not just LGBTQI people. It’s Asians, it’s African Americans. There’s just this rise in hatred that I’ve never seen before, and I wouldn’t have expected.

“I’m 54 now, so I lived through a lot of turmoil in the LGBTQ+ community in the 80s and 90s… But I just don’t think I’ve ever felt anything like this. I know it will end eventually because all this kind of stuff always does. But in the meantime, it’s hard to go through.

“I personally just worry about the LGBTQ+ youth in particular. I hope as adults, we can weather the storm … [but you think of] the kids and the suicide rate being so much higher with LGBTQ+ kids, and it’s disheartening.”