Sophie Straat addresses gender debate at Lowlands festival

During a performance at the Lowlands festival, singer Sophie Straat addressed the controversy surrounding her previous comments regarding white men. Following criticism that her remarks, which included telling white men to ‘step back,’ constituted discrimination, legal authorities in the Netherlands and Belgium determined that her statements did not violate anti-discrimination laws.

Straat used her stage time to challenge men who had criticized her, suggesting they focus their energy on leading debates regarding misogyny, racism, and transphobia. She also called on other artists to speak out and reiterated her stance on creating safe spaces at concerts. The singer noted that she had faced a surge of sexist and antisemitic hate speech and death threats following social media clips of her performances being circulated.