Skillet’s John Cooper, known for being vocal about his Christian beliefs, recently shared his thoughts on transgender people and how the band’s latest album addresses related matters.
“I love people who identify as transgender or whatever,” Cooper said. “That’s my faith. I love them just like I love other people. But I don’t think we should restructure all of society based on this because I don’t believe it, and I should be able to say what I think. That’s what the song, ‘Unpopular,’ is about. So, I’m like, ‘Today’s a good day to be unpopular,’ because these people have lost their minds.”
‘Unpopular’ saw release in August as the lead single from Skillet’s new album, ‘Revolution.’ Cooper explained that the album was created to make listeners relate and feel they are not alone.
He continued, “I wanted somebody to be like, ‘That’s a band that has my back, that gets it.’ So, the song, ‘Not Afraid,’ is really about that. We were talking about courage earlier. It’s the one that goes, ‘You know what? It’s my time to be David against Goliath here.’ You know, ‘I’m hoping somebody else is gonna do it.’ We all need to do it.”
“It might be in a small way. It might just be you teaching your kids what is real, knowing that you may get some backlash. Your friends might not like you anymore, but you’re teaching your kids. You’re training them. For us, it was different, knowing that we were gonna have this backlash against the music, which we do. But more than that, we have people saying, ‘Thank you so much for just being yourself and being authentic and making it okay to say something that you believe.’”
‘Revolution’ debuted on November 1 and has sparked criticism for its themes and lyrics, especially in ‘Unpopular.’ Cooper has stated that Skillet aimed to connect with those who share similar values and mock the hate they receive from their critics.
The band is set to promote their twelfth studio album with a 2025 tour, starting in late December in the United States.
