By Peter Goffin GTA

The 1972 hit ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ was called ‘transphobic’ by the University of Guelph student association, which apologized for playing the song on campus.

The student union at the University of Guelph has gained international attention — much of it negative — for criticizing the classic rock song “Walk on the Wild Side” as “transphobic.”

The university’s Central Student Association apologized via social media for playing Lou Reed’s 1972 hit at a campus event.

“It’s come to our attention that the playlist we had . . . on Thursday contained a song with transphobic lyrics,” the student association said in a May 12 Facebook post that has since been deleted.

“We now know the lyrics to this song are hurtful to our friends in the trans community and we’d like to unreservedly apologize for this error in judgement (sic).”

The student association said the person who selected the song for the playlist did not “know or understand” the lyrics, which include the lines, “Holly came from Miami F.L.A. . . . Plucked her eyebrows on the way, shaved her legs and then he was a she. She said, ‘Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side.’”

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