Alice Cooper: Transgenderism ‘Absurd’ and a ‘Fad’

There has always been a bit more to Alice Cooper than meets the eye. Much of his music is snarling (“I’m Eighteen”) and rebellious (“No More Mr. Nice Guy”); much of his live act, shocking and outrageous. But not far beneath the surface is an easygoing erudition, memorably captured in Wayne’s World and displayed on his radio show. And while he once plumbed depths of depravity familiar to rock stars, he managed to escape those depths, a fact for which he credits his wife and his Christian faith: “I grew up in the church, went as far away as I could from it — almost died — and then came back to the church.” Now, he helps other celebrities get clean. He’s been married to the same woman since 1976, excepting a short separation in the mid ’80s before he turned his personal life around (at her behest) and they reconciled.

In an interview with music website Stereogum prompted by the release of his latest album, Cooper provides further depth to his character. He discusses, among other things, his high-school distance-running prowess (of particular interest to me), babysitting a young Keanu Reeves, meeting Salvador Dalí and other notables, and more. Most striking, however, are his comments on transgenderism and wokeism. On the former, he backs off more permissive comments about sexuality that he had made in the ’70s.

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Jack Butler

Jack Butler is a former submissions editor at National Review.

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There has always been a bit more to Alice Cooper than meets the eye. Much of his music is snarling (“I’m Eighteen”) and rebellious (“No More Mr. Nice Guy”); much of his live act, shocking and outrageous. But not far beneath the surface is an easygoing erudition, memorably captured in Wayne’s World and displayed on his radio show. And while he once plumbed depths of depravity familiar to rock stars, he managed to escape those depths, a fact for which he credits his wife and his Christian faith: “I grew up in the church, went as far away as I could from it — almost died — and then came back to the church.” Now, he helps other celebrities get clean. He’s been married to the same woman since 1976, excepting a short separation in the mid ’80s before he turned his personal life around (at her behest) and they reconciled.

In an interview with music website Stereogum prompted by the release of his latest album, Cooper provides further depth to his character. He discusses, among other things, his high-school distance-running prowess (of particular interest to me), babysitting a young Keanu Reeves, meeting Salvador Dalí and other notables, and more. Most striking, however, are his comments on transgenderism and wokeism. On the former, he backs off more permissive comments about sexuality that he had made in the ’70s.