In 2012, Beenie Man apologized to the gay community for his earlier homophobic lyrics: "Let me make this clear and straight. I have nothing against no one. I respect each and every human being, regardless of which race or creed, regardless of which religious belief you believe in, and regardless of which sexual preference you are, including gays and lesbian people. I respect all human...Please I am begging you do not have me up for some songs I wrote a long time ago. I love each and every one and am just begging each and everyone to do the same." In other interviews, however, he was quoted making statements such as "I never apologized" and "I told them to leave us alone, to try to understand where we are coming from." In 2015 prior to coming to New Zealand for a concert, GayNZ.com news site asked Beenie Man about the homophobic lyrics in his earlier songs. He hung up the telephone without answering.