Subscribe
Cassius Life Featured Video
CLOSE
Celebrities Visit SiriusXM - July 23, 2019

Source: Astrid Stawiarz / Getty

Mario Lopez sparked debate and controversy when he made comments in relation to parents and their behavior towards their children’s gender identity.

Back in June, Lopez had a conversation with Candace Owens. The interview, as it so commonly happens in today’s society, resurfaced this week. The two talked about his devotion to family, and during their chat, Owens and Lopez talked about a trend of celebrity parents who allow children to “pick their gender.”

“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,” said Lopez, the host of The Extra. “But at the same time, my God, if you’re three 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, well, OK, then you’re going to a boy or a girl, whatever the case may be. It’s sort of alarming and, my gosh, I just think about the repercussions later on.”

The backlash came instantly. Queer Eye’s Karamo Brown called the media personality’s thoughts dangerous and irresponsible. Of course where there’s backlash, there would also be support. People have lent their support to the 45-year-old, including comedian James Andre Jefferson Jr., political teen pundit CJ Pearson, and fans who have flooded Lopez’s social pages with support.

Since this backlash, Mario Lopez has come out and walked his comments back. He released a statement to People stating, “The comments I made were ignorant and insensitive, and I now have a deeper understanding of how hurtful they were. 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.”

GLAAD, which is a media monitoring organization founded by LGBT people to protect against defamation, had this to say about Lopez:

“The real ‘dangerous action’ is when someone with a public platform uses bad science to speak against a marginalized and vulnerable group of children. We spoke with Extra and it is clear that the show runners 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.”