Hozier on the LGB and trans community being targeted as “scapegoats”

Hozier has reflected on the current political and social climate across the globe, and stated that he feels the LGBTQ+ community are being targeted as scapegoats.

The discussion took place during a new interview with NME last week (August 19), in which the Irish singer-songwriter opened up about the inspiration behind his music – particularly in his new album ‘Unreal Unearth’.

Speaking to NME’s Nick Levine, Hozier – real name Andrew Hozier-Byrne – opened up on the backlash and prejudice commonly faced by members of the LGBTQ+ community, and the increasing ways that they are being used as “scapegoats” in difficult times.

Asked about his longtime support for the LGBTQ+ community, and why he is so willing to speak up against oppressive attitudes without hesitation, Hozier said: “I find that a hard question to tackle in some succinct, definitive way.

“But I think you should at least try to be honest, which is what I’ve tried to do in the work. There’s always been space in my work for my own conscience and the way I view our responsibilities to the shared society we live in.

“Also, I’m acutely aware – increasingly aware – that there’s always a portion of the population who are at risk of becoming scapegoated when things get difficult.”

He continued, explaining how he thinks a lot of the backlash the community faces stems from the government’s inability to provide “easy answers” to difficult circumstances, and a tendency to shift the focus onto minority groups instead.

“Political leaders do not have easy answers for the enormous questions they’re faced with – or even difficult answers, which are oftentimes more important for the difficult challenges that we all face with regard systems as they fail us collectively,” he added.

“And so oftentimes the easiest thing to do is hop on culture war issues, hop on a scapegoat [and] drum up some fear-mongering. And the minorities in that society are invariably the first to be targeted,” Hozier continued. “I think we’re witnessing that increasingly with the LGBTQ+ community and particularly the trans community.”

Elsewhere in the interview, NME also highlighted how Hozier openly showed his support for LGBTQ+ rights with his 2013 breakout single ‘Take Me To Church’ – which was partly inspired by the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church – and again in 2020, when he used his social media channels to reaffirm his stance during Pride Month.

“Trans rights are human rights,” he wrote on Twitter (now X). “I don’t know who might need to hear this today but you are loved, you are seen and you deserve to be happy and respected for who you are and the God given life you live.”

Last Thursday (August 17), NME gave the songwriter’s new album a four-star review, and described his third LP as “epic, expansive and ethereal”.

“‘Unreal Unearth’ traverses a variety of styles from softer piano ballads like ‘Butchered Tongue’ to up-tempo folk-pop ‘Anything But’ and fuzzy-guitar rock stomp ‘Francesca’,” it read.

“Hozier not only navigates different genres on ‘Unreal Unearth,’ but chooses between moments of sparseness […] while also making space for expansive tracks,” it adds. “It sounds like a movie score, complete with swelling strings and haunting distorted vocals.”