The left raged against Mario Lopez after he said that he thought it was “dangerous” for parents to allow their kids as young as 3-years-old to choose their gender.
It all started Tuesday during the 45-year-old actor’s appearance on “The Candace Owens Show” while the two were talking about the current trend in Hollywood of stars like Charlize Theron allowing their children to choose their own identity. (RELATED: Democrats Denied Transgender Athletes Have Advantages In Women’s Sports. Science Says They’re Wrong)
“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, but 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 that determination,” the host of “Extra” explained. (RELATED: Model Admits She Lied About Being Transgender After Getting ‘Death Threats’ Over Past Comments)
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“It’s sort of alarming, and my gosh, I just think about the repercussions later on,” he added.
It wasn’t long after the comments surfaced on social media that people attacked the “Saved by the Bell” star as “transphobic” and more.
Also, reminder than Mario Lopez’s first marriage was annulled like 5 days after it happened b/c he fucked around at his bachelor party and other shit. So don’t come screaming about “morality” and “family values” — trans kids and their parents have values. He doesn’t!
— Christina Warren (@film_girl) 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
It’s dangerous for anyone to watch Mario Lopez going forward.
— Frederick Joseph (@FredTJoseph) July 31, 2019
Mario Lopez faces backlash for his comments on raising transgender children https://t.co/hI3Sl0ul6N Thank God he doesn’t have a #transgender child to be cruel to and raise wrong
— TaylorLianneChandler (@RealTayChaTLC) July 31, 2019
.@MarioLopezExtra told @prageru host @RealCandaceO he won’t let his kids “kick it” with transgender children https://t.co/gDGdsdPvMS @TrevorProject @glaad @TransMediaWatch @iskandrah @PFLAG
— Dan Avery (@ItsDanAvery) July 31, 2019
Mario Lopez: It’s ‘dangerous’ for parents to support transgender kids – Yahoo Lifestyle And he gets to keep his stupid job as the host of whatever that damn show is #fool https://t.co/Gvvwu8CgAo
— Tatum O’neal (@Tatum_Oneal) July 31, 2019
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
Also #MarioLopez should read more — being #Trans is about IDENTITY not sex. And trans folks understand that they are being treated differently from how they identity btw the ages of 3 & 5 & adults force gender on kids from birth. @MarioLopezExtra when all else fails — READ
— Wade Davis II (@Wade_Davis28) July 31, 2019
NBC News did a story about the backlash and included an interview with Christia Spears Brown, a social psychology professor at the University of Kentucky and author of “Parenting Beyond Pink & Blue,” who told the outlet that the actor’s comments were “common” and replete with “misconceptions surrounding gender identity.”
In the same piece, the news organization labeled Lopez as identifying “as a conservative,” but also being a “visible ally of the LGBTQ community in the past as a presenter at the “2011 and 2012 GLAAD Media Awards and was grand marshal of the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade in 2015.”
And the article included a stat about the percentage of LGBTQ youth who “seriously consider attempting suicide” in the past “12 months,” per The Trevor Project’s 2019 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health.
The star has since apologized for the comments calling them, “ignorant and insensitive.” The whole apology can be read here.