Do we like them?

Do we like Hozier?

Our score: 8 out of 10. Consistent public support for trans and queer people and no harmful words found, held back only by thin reporting on how he treats people day to day.

Hozier broke out with “Take Me To Church”, a song partly inspired by hypocrisy in the Catholic Church. That set the pattern for him: a big, soulful voice with a point to make. I couldn't confirm the details of his childhood from pages I opened, so I'll stick to what he's said and done in public.

His one real career stoush was in 2015, when Chilly Gonzales pointed out similarities between “Take Me To Church” and a Feist song. Press talk turned to legal action, but Hozier wrote that all he'd sought was an apology and a retraction. He said Gonzales had been co-operative and there were “no hard feelings”, which is a fairly gracious way to end a fight.

On the harm check, he sails through. In 2023 he told NME that LGBTQ+ people, trans people in particular, were increasingly being used as scapegoats when things get difficult. He told PinkNews that respecting trans people is “a question of decency and showing up”, and he criticised media outlets that treat a tiny share of the population as the most pressing issue.

A smaller wobble came in 2024. A fan said she was pulled aside at his Wembley show over a Free Palestine scarf. Hozier said his team had “zero policy of prohibiting signs of any kind”, that no request came from him, and he apologised to her. The venue also apologised, so it reads as a venue stuff-up he owned quickly.

I found nothing new on him lately that bears on the question, no scandal and no change of tune. The record is also thin on his recent collaborators, though nothing flagged there. He tells audiences to “use your kind power”, and as far as the reporting goes he does. A solid yes from us.