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| Mario Lopez (screen capture) |
Much of LGBTQ media has put EXTRA host Mario Lopez on blast for saying it's "dangerous" for parents to support their transgender children on the Candace Owens radio show.
Lopez appeared on the show in June, but the comments are only just now getting attention.
During the chat, Owens - whose politics run waaay to the right and is a big Trump supporter - began the chat about trans kids by saying, “A lot of weird trends come out of Hollywood and one of the weirder ones, for me, is this new trend where celebrities are coming out — and I know Charlize Theron did this a few weeks ago — is saying that their child is picking their gender. And this is strange to me."
Notice how she frames the transgender issue as a 'weird trend' out of Hollywood...
"I'm trying to undertstand it myself. And please don't lump me into that whole (group). I'm kind of blown away, too," Lopez chimed in. "I'm never one to tell anyone how to parent their kids obviously and I think if you come from a place of love, you really can't go wrong."
Ok, so far, so good...
"But at the same time, if you're 3-years-old and you're saying you're feeling a certain way or you think you're a boy or a girl or whatever the case may be, I just think it's dangerous as a parent to make this determination,” continued Lopez.
“It's sort of alarming," he added. "I just think about the repercussions later on."
Ok, not so good...
Here's the appearance by Lopez on the radio show. The clip should be cued up to the chat on trans kids.
Lopez also seemed confused about the difference between gender and sexuality saying, "When you're a kid you don't know anything about sexuality yet. You're just a kid."
To be clear, sexuality has nothing to do with feeling you're male or female. That's gender identity.
That said, I'm not for calling for pitchforks and such regarding Lopez's trans statement. Reading the whole quote, he makes a point to say 'lead with love' and not tell parents how to raise kids. So, he gets credit for that.
I will say, as someone who writes in the LGBTQ space every day, I don't know anyone trotting their 3-year-old into surgery. That's pretty much a big ole exaggeration.
Notice how she frames the transgender issue as a 'weird trend' out of Hollywood...
"I'm trying to undertstand it myself. And please don't lump me into that whole (group). I'm kind of blown away, too," Lopez chimed in. "I'm never one to tell anyone how to parent their kids obviously and I think if you come from a place of love, you really can't go wrong."
Ok, so far, so good...
"But at the same time, if you're 3-years-old and you're saying you're feeling a certain way or you think you're a boy or a girl or whatever the case may be, I just think it's dangerous as a parent to make this determination,” continued Lopez.
“It's sort of alarming," he added. "I just think about the repercussions later on."
Ok, not so good...
Here's the appearance by Lopez on the radio show. The clip should be cued up to the chat on trans kids.
Lopez also seemed confused about the difference between gender and sexuality saying, "When you're a kid you don't know anything about sexuality yet. You're just a kid."
To be clear, sexuality has nothing to do with feeling you're male or female. That's gender identity.
That said, I'm not for calling for pitchforks and such regarding Lopez's trans statement. Reading the whole quote, he makes a point to say 'lead with love' and not tell parents how to raise kids. So, he gets credit for that.
I will say, as someone who writes in the LGBTQ space every day, I don't know anyone trotting their 3-year-old into surgery. That's pretty much a big ole exaggeration.
Later in the chat, Lopez criticized the “politically correct” nature of Hollywood, and also expressed concern about the me too movement, saying hashtags like #BelieveWomen are “dangerous” because they could be lying.
“God forbid you have a son out there and a girl may have felt a certain way about a situation—dismissed, hurt, whatever, and is feeling vengeful and just decides to tell a certain story that’s not even exactly true, come back and hurt that individual,” he said.
Following the social media buzz, Lopez issued a statement via his press rep.
“I have been and always will be an ardent supporter of the LGBTQ community, and I am going to use this opportunity to better educate myself. Moving forward I will be more informed and thoughtful,” he added.
One would think Lopez would be a bit more informed on trans issues seeing that he has been a presenter at the 2011 and 2012 GLAAD Media Awards and was named grand marshal of the Miami Beach Gay Pride parade in 2015.
GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement that Lopez "clearly needs a primer on trans issues."
"Medical and psychological experts, and parents of children who are transgender have long discredited the ideas that Mario Lopez shared last month,” Ellis said. “The real 'dangerous action' is when someone with a public platform uses bad science to speak against a marginalized and vulnerable group of children."
GLAAD also reached out to the producers of EXTRA who confirmed they did not share Lopez's view stated on the radio show. The producers added they will address the topic in tonight's show.
Medical and psychological experts, and parents of children who are transgender, have long discredited the ideas that @MarioLopezExtra shared. The real dangerous action is when someone with a public platform uses bad science to speak against a vulnerable group of children. https://t.co/kz2pEMWTBm
— GLAAD (@glaad) July 31, 2019
We spoke with Extra and it is clear that the showrunners do not support or share his view. They will address this issue on the show tonight. Lopez clearly needs a primer on trans issues. We reached out to his team to see if and how he will correct the record.
— GLAAD (@glaad) July 31, 2019
It’s okay @MarioLopezExtra. We’re here to help provide more education on what being #transgender means, the difference between #sexualorientation, #sex, and #gender... and a whole lot of other things. https://t.co/ahjYTyenMD— PFLAG National (@PFLAG) July 31, 2019
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