A few weeks ago, here on Gurl.com, we posted a story about Katy Perry and how awesomely she portrayed the military in one of her recent videos. Practically right after it went up, a few girls contacted us and told us that Katy Perry is transphobic (meaning that she discriminates against transgender people) and that they can’t stand her because of it.

I was super surprised to hear this–but since we don’t want to promote hateful people on the site, I did my research to see what all the drama was about. Turns out, back in 2009, Katy posted a tweet that was offensive to the transgender community. Now, I don’t know Katy (and I’m pretty sure the girls who were so quick to say she’s transphobic don’t either), but I don’t think it’s a stretch to guess that the girl who dedicated her song “Firework” to the “It Gets Better Campaign” which supports bullied gay girls and guys either 1) didn’t think about her tweet before she sent it and didn’t mean it to offend anybody–but now feels bad about it, or 2) that she just thought it was funny but now feels terrible about it and wants to show the world that she’s a better person than that.

Either scenario resulted in a tweet that upset people, which I’m not saying is good, but I don’t think Katy should have to be stuck with that bad decision three years after the fact. It’s not like she shot someone or set out to ruin someone’s life–she just said something completely thoughtless.

My point is that good people sometimes make bad decisions, and that those bad decisions don’t necessarily make them bad people. I have friends who sometimes say bad or stupid things are “retarded.” Does that term upset me? Yes. Do I tell them that? Yes. Do they apologize and we all move on? YES! Have I said irresponsible things from time-to-time either not realizing they were offensive or not thinking about the implications of what I was saying? Of course–and I bet you have, too. Think about it.

Why shouldn’t we let celebrities make mistakes, too, without labeling them forever as bad people? I get it that their words have a greater impact because all eyes are on them–but nobody’s perfect. We’re all just human here (even the stars among us), and the great thing about life is that it’s not static. We all (you, me, and even Katy Perry) have the ability to grow and learn and be better people each and every day. We all do totally stupid stuff from time-to-time, and hopefully those experiences make us better people instead of worse.

Let’s try to look at people (and yes, even celebrities!) with a little compassion before we go labeling them as “phobic” this or “anti” that. After all, how can you expect anyone to change for the better when you don’t give them a chance?

Have you ever forgiven a friend for saying something hurtful? Do you think good people can make bad decisions sometimes? Tell me all your thoughts–including your thoughts on Katy Perry–in the comments!

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