Carlos Santana apology for ‘insensitive comments’ about trans people deleted from Facebook after 12 hours

NEW YORK — Carlos Santana’s apology to the transgender community over a recent speech slammed as “transphobic” and “bigoted” appears to have been deleted from Facebook, about 12 hours after it was initially posted.

“I am sorry for my insensitive comments,” the multi-Grammy-winning musician wrote Thursday evening. “They don’t reflect that I want to honor and respect all person’s ideals and beliefs. I realize that what I said hurt people and that was not my intent,” he added. “I sincerely apologize to the transgender community and everyone I offended.”

The two-paragraph apology, which appeared on his timeline until about 10:30 a.m. ET, came in response to the backlash that followed the musician’s now-viral speech about trans people recorded in a show in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Earlier on Thursday, a short clip recorded late last month showed the famed 76-year-old guitarist going on an anti-trans rant that baffled some of his fans.

The “Black Magic Woman” singer suggested trans people should “stay in the closet;” said the transgender experience was not “right;” and gave a shoutout to Dave Chapelle, the controversial comedian known for his anti-trans material.

“When God made you and me, before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are,” Santana was filmed telling the audience.

“Later on, when you grow out of it, you see things, and you start believing that you could be something that sounds good, but you know it ain’t right. Because a woman is a woman and a man is a man. That’s it,” he said. “Whatever you wanna do in the closet, that’s your business. I’m OK with that.”

The clip sparked outrage on social media, with some people calling him a “transphobic bigoted a—hole” and “pretty horrible,” and others referring to the incident as “so disappointing” and “heartbreaking.”

Reps for the singer didn’t respond to a request for comment from the Daily News on Thursday afternoon, but Santana later took to social media to clarify his intent — before seemingly deleting the post.

“I want to honor and respect all person’s ideals and beliefs whether they are LGBTQ or not,” the musician wrote in the since-deleted message. “It takes courage to grow and glow in the light that you are and to be true, genuine, and authentic. We grow and learn to shine our light with Love and compliments.”