Ethel Cain (and her fans) say she is the victim of a 'transphobic hate campaign.' Here's why

Musician Ethel Cain has apologized for resurfaced old posts of “racist statements” and unsavory jokes she made when she was 19. This week, the Preacher's Daughter singer wrote a lengthy statement in Google Docs and shared a link to her social media posts, where she took accountability for the unearthed problematic posts. However, in her statement, the singer — whose real name is Hayden Silas Anhedönia — and her fans have expressed that they think she's the target of a “transphobic hate campaign.”

Cain’s Spotify page was hacked, and the person who hacked it wrote that Cain, who is a trans woman, was “a weird boy,” Stereogum reported.

An X account called @herweirdsilas uploaded screenshots of Cain’s unsavory posts that were originally posted to a subreddit dedicated to the singer. The original post on Reddit has since been deleted. The screengrabs include her responses to questions on a Q&A platform called Curious Cat, where she admitted to using the N-word and wrote, “build that wall.” There was also a screenshot of her wearing a shirt that read, “Legalize Incest” along with posts mocking people who use “they/them” pronouns, making fat jokes, and jokes about rape.

“I’m not affiliated with the hacking of her Spotify, and despite the obvious transphobic rhetoric that the hackers have, this shouldn’t change your opinion about the recent allegations,” reads a post by the X account that reupped Cain's old posts. “They are just some bad apples and clearly not trying to hold her accountable.”

Since facing criticism, transphobic social media users have taken the opportunity to sling transphobic comments at Cain and to misgender her. As discourse online ballooned, some have advocated for nuance. “'Ethel Cain did something wrong and we can hold her accountable for that while also recognizing the transmisogynistic smear campaign she's experiencing,' is apparently too nuanced of a take for Twitter,” one person wrote.

Taking accountability for her old posts, Cain wrote that she was 19 at the time and knew what she was saying. She wrote that she spent her later high school years as a progressive, “as a way to reject the indoctrination of my environment and rebel against the prejudice, hatred, and ignorance of the culture I grew up in,” she wrote. “I flip-flopped again, rejecting all notions of my former 'cringe SJW [social justice warrior]' behavior and intended to be as inflammatory and controversial as possible. I would have said (and usually did say) anything, about anyone, to gain attention and ultimately just make my friends laugh."

Cain went on to say that the release of these unearthed posts was the result of a vindictive attack. “All of these things resurfacing are not the actions of a well-meaning individual concerned by something they discovered easily and casually on the internet,” the 27-year-old wrote. “These are screenshots obtained through extensive digging, hacking, and cooperative effort amongst a group of individuals who do not care who else is hurt by witnessing this media as long as I am ultimately hurt the worst in the end.”

The information that was gathered about her has been “hoarded over the past couple of years” Cain said, adding that she’s been “tipped off in various ways.”

“This massive smear campaign has been a long time in the making, waiting for the right moment to be unleashed, and now it finally has,” she continued.

The statement concluded: “I will not allow this smear campaign to silence me in the same way I have not allowed any of their previous attempts to silence me. Again, in this day and age, just as I must be diligent with my voice and my actions, you share the same responsibility.”

While Cain's fans acknowledged and are upset with her problematic old posts, people on social media have recognized the coordinated effort to deplatform her.

“While having these discussions, please do not invalidate the feelings of people who were hurt by her past behavior,” one fan page wrote on their Instagram story. “She is the victim of a vile, egregious, transphobic hate campaign, she is holding herself accountable for past behaviors. Two things can exist at once. Sending all my love to Hayden and all of you, please remember to be kind and extend grace.”