Arts & Entertainment
Lou Reed’s friends insist ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ wasn’t transphobic
the song famously references Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling
(Lou Reed. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.)
A Canadian university has apologized for playing Lou Reed’s hit song “Walk on the Wild Side” at a campus event because the song has been accused of being transphobic. However, Reed’s friends think the situation is “stupid.”
The student association at the University of Guelph in Ontario posted a since-deleted apology on Facebook for playing the song at a recent event.
“We now know the lyrics to this song are hurtful to our friends in the trans community and we’d like to unreservedly apologize for this error in judgment,” the Guelph Central Student Association wrote.
The opening lyrics of the song are known to be about transgender performers Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling. Reed, Woodlawn and Darling were all members of Andy Warhol’s group of artists, musicians, and actors known as, “superstars.”
“Holly came from Miami, FLA/Hitchhiked her way across the USA/Plucked her eyebrows on the way/Shaved her legs and then he was a she. She says, ‘Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side,'” the lyrics read. “Candy came from out on the island, In the backroom she was everybody’s darling, But she never lost her head, Even when she was giving head, She says, hey baby, take a walk on the wild side.”
Reed’s producer Hal Willner told the Guardian the students “should be focusing their anger on other stuff.”
“I don’t know if Lou would be cracking up about this or crying because it’s just too stupid,” Willner says. “The song was a love song to all the people he knew and to New York City by a man who supported the community and the city his whole life… This song was how the world first heard about these people. The students should be focusing their anger on other stuff and this isn’t it.”
His former backup singer Jenni Muldaur also told the Guardian that the students misunderstood the meaning of the song.
“Lou was open about his complete acceptance of all creatures of the night,” Muldaur says. “That’s what that song’s about. Everyone doing their thing, taking a walk on the wild side. I can’t imagine how anyone could conceive of that. The album was called ‘Transformer.’ What do they think it’s about?”
Reed passed away in 2013 after a battle with liver disease.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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