08.28.23
Alice Cooper, the 75-year-old "Godfather of Shock Rock" whose real name is Vincent Damon Furnier, signed a deal less than two weeks ago to partner with Vampyre Cosmetics on a collection—but the brand has cut all ties with the rock legend. Vampyre announced it is refunding all pre-orders.
Reports, including the NY Post, say that Vampyre Cosmetics "canceled" Cooper due to his opposition to gender affirming care for minors, which includes surgeries and hormonal treatments to facilitate the transition to the opposite sex.
Stereogum's Rachel Brodsky interviewed Cooper, who is promoting a new album, "Road," and reminded him of remarks he made in a 1974 interview with SPEC, which included the statement, “In the future, everyone will be bisexual.”
Brodsky asked Cooper if his thoughts on sexuality have changed, and if he agrees with recent comments made by Paul Stanley and Dee Snider calling gender-affirming care for kids a "sad and dangerous fad."
Cooper says: "Yeah. I’m understanding that there are cases of transgender, but I’m afraid that it’s also a fad, and I’m afraid there’s a lot of people claiming to be this just because they want to be that."
Cooper continues, "So I say let somebody at least become sexually aware of who they are before they start thinking about if they’re a boy or a girl." Then he says, "It’s confusing...You’re still trying to find your identity, and yet here’s this thing going on, saying, 'Yeah, but you can be anything you want...' It’s so absurd, that it’s gone now to the point of absurdity."
Vampyre Cosmetics wrote on Instagram:
“In light of recent statements by Alice Cooper we will no longer be doing a makeup collaboration...We stand with all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and believe everyone should have access to healthcare."
The makeup company added a video post, saying, "This is who we are, this is who we've always been. We are proudly women owned, disabled, Autistic owned and LGBT+ owned. Our products are vegan, cruelty free, gluten free and talc free."
The collab was a deal between Vampyre Cosmetics and licensing agent Global Merchandising. The beauty brand's design team stated that the exclusive collection "celebrated the distinctive look and style of Alice Cooper."
The collection was going to include guitar and amp-shaped makeup palettes, microphone-styled lipsticks, and a new version of Alice Cooper's iconic Whiplash mascara—a unisex product originally created to "Liberate Your Eyes," Vampyre's website states.
Need a glimpse of what it may have looked like?
Vampyre already sells a guitar-shaped palette, shown above. It is based on "Emily the Strange," a character created by Rob Reger, licensed by Cosmic Debris Etc. There's also the Emily the Strange Microphone Lipstick.
Just in time for Halloween, Vampyre Cosmetics has a Vintage Halloween Jack-O-Lantern Palette, which contains 12 eyeshadows.
The brand also launched the Vincent Price Palette, shaped like the iconic character actor's face—in "Frankenstein green." Each of the 8 vegan, talc-free eye shadow shades are "intensely pigmented," the brand says, and glow under UV light.
