Transphobia in Music Tech: Christian Henson

Thanks a lot! This is extremely helpful. You are an open minded person, like everyone of us should be like. Thanks for your engagement.

Danke!

Well spoken! Actually I found this video after deciding not to install spirfire packs on my new Push 3 and wondering about the current situation at Spitfire.

Thank you for this video. I started using this stuff a couple of days ago and discovered the transphobic nature of the creator and co-owner. It’s truly awful.

WOW. this does suck. :( fuck transphobia. such a waste, brought to you by snakes like peterson.

Thank you for this video ❤

Wow didn’t even know that any of this happened. I love spitfire and there stuff and they have inspired me, as well as Christian, in pursing my dream of being a media composer. It is so unfortunate that so many make things political and harm others there with words. At the end of the day Christian and his company are meant to inspire and create beautiful libraries for composers and artists. But, for him to bring politics into a company that nurtures the idea of inspiration is so sad. I hope that all the artists who are hurt by these words go on and make beautiful music! It is so unfortunate that we live in a society that treats the LGBTQ+ community so poorly. This is just unacceptable and I want to thank you for making this video.

👏 👏 👏

❤

Thanks for making this. I’m a trans woman so it means a lot. been really binging your content recently and it was a surprise to see this. I even learned quite a bit since I wasn’t familiar with the Tavistock Clinic.

Jeremy - thank you so much for taking the time to make this video. I'm a Brit composer, long-time user of countless Spitfire products, and I identify as non-binary, and yeah, this has absolutely sucked. Huge solidarity with the trans community, and I hope Henson sees this video shared again and again.

Hello, editing Jeremy here. I've removed the portion of the video called out Loren. It was misguided and I apologize.

Christian Henson has announced he is stepping down from his duties at Spitfire. Here is my statement on that:

"“I am saddened and disappointed [that] the efforts of the community to redeem a beloved company have ended in Christian’s departure. I tried very hard in my video to offer a path to open communication and clearing of the air, and we have gotten none of that.

“The fact of the matter is, Christian hasn’t apologized or explained his stance on the matter addressed. Nobody has. It’s still there, looming like it always was.

“What worries me here is that the beliefs shared in the original tweet are so deeply entrenched that instead of coming around to seeing why they are harmful, Christian has decided to martyr himself and step down from his operations at Spitfire.

“With that in mind, I believe Christian will continue to be involved in the company unless he is removed from the corporate structure. He still is a co-owner.

“This is one of the worst outcomes for this situation, and I urge everyone involved to reflect on how this doesn’t solve the problem, it just sweeps it under the rug."

It was never my intention to force Christian to step down.

Also I acknowledge the error of me saying Rowling is Scottish.

You summed it up so well at the end there. Wonderfully said. Thanks Jeremy.

Amazing video, thank you for educating me about this

This. I love this direction you’re taking, covering more topics of the music tech world!!

amazing video Jeremy, just one point about Scotland. whilst a left wing government, the trans bill was actually passed with votes from EVERY party in Scottish parliament (thats including tories btw! although only 1/3). Yet, despite the unanimous consent from Scottish parliament, the bill was stopped only through dubiously legal means by the Westminster parliament - under the command of everyone's favourite oligarch Rishi Sunak......

Thank you for making this video.

Definitely boycotting Meris for supporting Christian’s return. Sucks i wanted that delay…great video

Thank you Jeremy! Your passion to spread real information here shows the best of humanity. I was sadly very uninformed about these matters and thank you from the bottom of my heart for the education. Peace, love and positivity above all!!!

Thank you for doing the work ❤️❤️❤️ your voice matters to so many people.

holy shit this was a hard watch, i can only imagine how hard it must've been to make. as a trans person who dabbles in music, thank you.

Thanks for taking the time to share this. Eye opening and really appreciate your educational approach

This is such an incredible explanation video for anyone who might not know what’s going on. I also appreciate you highlighting specific artists that had to deal with this situation. Will be happy to support them

"The Future Is Inclusive." Oh hellllllllllll yes!

Thank you for bringing this to people's attention. I had no idea it was going on.

his wife also has deleted transphobic tweets. I really hope they both take the time to understand trans people

This is some really top notch journalism. Thanks for putting so much work into explaining something that I really only see little glimpses of.

Thanks for making this and explaining in detail. I’d heard the news but didn’t really understand what it meant but now I do. I feel educated.

thank you Jeremy!

Thank you for for using your platform to support us (trans people) by talking about their transphobia. It's great to know that you're a vocal ally <3 Also, the follow up to soft music to do nothing to is great, nice work 😸

Nice TENCHO and good job standing up for trans folks like me!

I remember a few years back, watching your OP-1 videos, wondering to myself if this guy is a weekend furry while writing for my first video game. I never thought I'd buy an OP-1and still be watching now. I'm so happy I am. Trans pride!

I've also left Twitter behind aside from mild promotional tweets every now and then. Highly recommended action!

well done Jeremy.

Tfw you like someones music and find out they are based!

Thanks to everyone else voicing support here. The voices of hate are loud, they are obnoxious, they are everywhere, so it can feel like no one gives a shit sometimes. Reading y’all’s words of support means so much to me.

Thank you for making this. It makes all the difference when people speak up on our behalf about this stuff. I used to love IT Crowd too, then I accidentally came across « that episode » and idk if I’ve ever felt as freaked out and upset and panicked by something I saw on tv as I did seeing a trans woman get beaten up to the sound of canned sitcom laughter. It was like a really messed up nightmare. (The worst part is that she looks like she is dead at the end of it😞). Knowing that there are good people like you who’ll speak out against this shit means so much to me, you have no idea. Thank you ❤

as always, thanks for being you.

Where is Paul Thomson? Has he made any statement recently? I can’t find anything. I thought he was the co-founder of Spitfire Audio. Does Mr Henderson own a controlling share of Spitfire Audio? I was unaware of this. I am just a nobody when it comes to experimenting with music tech. Even so, I own a few licenses for Spitfire products. I can’t in good conscience use them in any way or keep them installed.

Great video.

Thank you! ❤ This meant a lot to this trans woman really into synths. There is something in synths and music that has been and is the safe place and source of happiness for generations of many of us. The acceptance and support in the synth and tech community has helped me through times when my human rights have been taken a few years ago in the country I'm originally from and when I keep seeing overt transphobia in mainstream UK media too. Thank you so much again! Seeing you stand up for us was heartwarming! 💜💙

Holy shit. Thanks for letting us know. I don’t think I would of know about Christian H did. Only the product till now

Thank you Jeremy. Thank you for making this. Denying people their identity is one of the worst things you can do to a human. Denying humanity the valuable contributions of people is one of the worst things you can do to humanity.
I wish we were over that, especially in the music community.

Nice job as always, Jeremy. It is so discouraging to see synth nerds who owe so much to Wendy Carlos go down this deranged and destructive path. Thanks for sticking up for humanity.

I totally agree with you except there is a fairly large gulf between the kind of shitty stuff J.K. Rowling says and the bat shit evil paranoia conspiracy stuff of Graham Linehan.. who yes I used to love his work, especially the I.T. Crowd but even now looking back on that show it is a bit messed up with its homophobic subtext.

Great video my guy

FUUUUCK