American musician Tommy Lee has offered a muted apology after resharing a clip on Instagram that equated being transgender with identifying as a baby.

The Mötley Crüe drummer, 60, had shared a clip from 2017 which featured Republican commentator Liz Wheeler talking on far-right channel One America News Network.

In the clip, Wheeler incorrectly suggests that society accepting trans people has led to white people pretending to be Black and able-bodied people injuring themselves as they feel disabled – the latter of which is also known as body integrity dysphoria.

Wheeler also equates the existence of trans people with adults identifying as children.

After receiving criticism from followers for resharing the misinformation, Lee posted a statement attempting to justify why he reposted the clip in the first place, and pledged his support for trans people.

“I deleted my ‘controversial’ post because I am in no way transphobic or against the LGBTQIA+ community or any f*****g community,” he wrote, adding: “I’m the gayest motherf****r around!”

Despite his insistence that he isn’t anti-trans, Pamela Anderson’s ex Tommy Lee expressed concern about people supposedly identifying as babies or animals.

“I just don’t agree with how far some things have been taken… I get being born female and identifying as male, or being born male and identifying as female or whatever.

“But when people start identifying as babies or animals…WTF!”

He added: “It got me thinking about where this and our world is all going.”

A number of Tommy Lee’s fans are explaining in the comments of the star’s Instagram apology why his original post was contentious.

“You’re falling for the alt-right propaganda people want you to fall for,” one wrote. “The only people who claim to be ‘transracial’ are trying to make fools out of the transgender community to make us look insane.”

Another said: “None of that sh*t is actually happening outside a few fringe cases hyped up by conservative media to make queer people look unhinged. Stop falling for it dude.”

A third questioned: “In your country there’s hundreds of anti-trans laws passing, all of them based on cliches and untrue arguments. Shouldn’t you talk about this instead of posting inflammatory content about a bunch of people?”

More than three hundred pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation have been introduced or passed in US states this year. Many of the proposed laws target trans youth and trans healthcare, while Tennessee recently became the first state to outlaw public drag performances.

Celebrities including Patti LuPone, Lily Tomlin and Kevin Bacon are among those who’ve spoken out against the wave of anti-trans hatred.