Mario Lopez said that it’s “dangerous” to listen to children who say they’re trans, and LGBTQ advocates are calling him out
Even as awareness of the transgender community (slowly) improves, there are still many, many misconceptions about what it means to be trans. Trans youth in particular often face the criticism that they’re too young to know their gender identity. Now, Mario Lopez is facing backlash over some problematic comments he made about transgender kids.
Lopez appeared on the June 23rd episode of PragerU’s The Candace Owens Show, hosted by Fox News contributor and right-wing provocateur Candace Owens. His comments on the show attracted new outrage when Yahoo! Lifestyle published a write-up about the interview on July 30th. In the video, Owens brought up other celebrities, like Charlize Theron, who have young children who identify as transgender. She argued that kids shouldn’t be trusted to “pick their gender,” adding that she has seen “children who say they’re mermaids” and “children say they could fly.”
"I am trying to understand this new Hollywood mentality where they just think their children now have the mental authority," she added.
In response, Lopez asked that Owens not “lump” him in with celebrities like Theron.
"Look, 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," he said. "At the same time, my God, 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 then."
He also called transgender kids “alarming,” and seemed to equate gender and sexual identities.
"When you’re a kid, you don’t know anything about sexuality yet," he said. "You're just a kid."
Several LGBTQ advocates pointed out that this idea can be harmful.
Queer Eye‘s Karamo Brown tweeted that he was “disappointed” with Lopez’s stance and wrote that “healthy & safe dialogue w/ kids is neither abusive, neglectful or ‘dangerous.’”
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1156435579095146498
Transgender journalist Parker Molloy explained in a thread that really young trans kids don’t undergo any irreversible medical transitions.
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1156542328779264001
The Transgender Law Center tweeted that it is dangerous to “forcibly confine youth to gender norms,” as Lopez suggested.
Dear @MarioLopezExtra, with all due respect, supporting trans youth is not dangerous.
It is dangerous to do the very thing you suggest: forcibly confine youth to gender norms. We refuse to let that reasoning go on without consequence. #ShowUp4TransYouthhttps://t.co/wfGEqhHVqm
— TransgenderLawCenter (@TransLawCenter) July 31, 2019
Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD also agreed that Lopez’s comments were harmful.
Mario Lopez’s comments are dangerous to the safety and well-being of LGBTQ youth, especially trans children who deserve to be loved and accepted for who they are. https://t.co/iRBwyobelf
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) July 31, 2019
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
Many others weighed in, too.
Dear Mario Lopez,
Transphobic parents are the danger not children being their truest selves.
Too many parents terrorize their children by forcing them into these gender boxes and limiting their expression. If you're doing this, your parenting sucks.https://t.co/szwUxJG8UQ
— Raquel Willis (@RaquelWillis_) July 31, 2019
Mario Lopez’s suggestion that parents ought not accept their trans kids — kids who face staggering levels of suicide, bullying and other hurdles — is cruel. He conflated sexual orientation and gender identity, which is a pretty big tell that ya don’t know anything about this.
— Alex Berg (@itsalexberg) July 31, 2019
Fortunately, it seems like Lopez took the criticism to heart, and he apologized in a statement issued to Variety.
"The comments I made were ignorant and insensitive, and I now have a deeper understanding of how hurtful they were, his statement read. “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."
Ultimately, trans kids deserve to have their identities recognized. We hope that Lopez will take this as a learning moment.
