If you found any part of Wendy William’s panel discussion on transgender athlete Chloie Jonsson offensive, she’d like you to know it wasn’t her intention. It’s not an apology per se, but an acknowledgment is going to have to do. And it’s not the worst start.
Williams took to Twitter — the ultimate half-assed apology medium for the information age — to clarify her thoughts.
Didn’t mean to offend when discussing transgender topic. I’m a long LGBT ally & @GLAAD supporter & will use this 2b better educated on the T
— Wendy Williams (@WendyWilliams) March 14, 2014
. @huffpostgay @queerty Chloie Jonsson’s lawsuit issue has clearly split public opinion & needs more visibility.
— Wendy Williams (@WendyWilliams) March 14, 2014
If you missed it, Williams called out Jonsson for having an unfair advantage in CrossFit competition because “you can take away female parts or male parts or whatever — it’s like Chaz Bono! You know Chaz is a man now, but I bet she [sic] still fights like a girl like the rest of us and she’s [sic] not as strong as a man who was born a man.”
Her guest Joe Pardavila sealed the deal by adding, “Think about it. You look inside — she’s got all guy muscles, and the juices! You know, I’m not a doctor or anything but inside her that’s all there.”
How about we take this to the next level?
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He’s also apologized, much more sincerely we might add:
@Andy_Marra I’m an idiot. Please accept my sincere and humble apologies for my comments.
— Joe ‘Monk’ Pardavila (@joepardavila) March 14, 2014
@ryderavalon Ryder, my comments were inexcusable and I promise to learn from this experience.
— Joe ‘Monk’ Pardavila (@joepardavila) March 14, 2014
The clip of the panel has been removed from YouTube.
We aren’t exactly wowed by William’s half apology, but we’re happy that the experience left her wanting more education on the matter.
Which is really what it comes down to — most people have zero to slim exposure with transgender people, and understandably don’t quite know how to navigate the topic.
We just hope in the future that anyone slotted to appear on national television to discuss transgender issues will take the extra effort to do some homework. When ill-informed opinions are broadcast for the masses, nobody wins.
Seems like a reasonable request.
How about an on-air clarification, Wendy? Perhaps like you, your audience would benefit from being “better educated on the T.”
Louis
I can honestly say I do not know much about transgender subjects but Id like too educate myself on the subject matter.
All I do know is we have all experienced our own forms of hate discrimination injustice cruelty even savage murders due too who we are and bodies we are born into.
Forgive me this comes from sincerity not a lack of understanding or automatically claiming I know how transgenders are what they are.
As I said earlier I don’t know much about the subject I do know however that I love them and they are human beings as we are wanted needed valued and loved as they should be as we all should be in this world.
I do not like seeing hatred and bigotry being thrown though whether its someone who is transgender doing that too someone who is gay or someone gay doing that too someone who is transgender.
We are all a part of the human race and my heart is with all those who are transgender you all deserve too live a life without judgements without intolerance and without hate.
I hope for gay lesbian bisexual and transgender people that that day will come soon.
Mdterp01
You know what…there’s a lot of gay people, including me, who are very ignorant when it comes to trans issues so I wasn’t in a fury the way others were about her comments because I know she is an ally. It is a teachable moment that she and many others need to be better informed. Why was it a half apology?
Thedrdonna
@Mdterp01: Hallo! I think it could best be said as, she never really said sorry or owned the fact that she hosted such a terrible segment in the first place. She acknowledged that public opinion is “split” and also recognized that people were offended. But she didn’t apologize for being offensive, she just noted that offense had occurred, and that she needed to learn.
Pistolo
I don’t see it as a “half-apology”, I think Wendy did the right and she’s at least willing to admit that.
jayj150
She doesn’t need to apologize for having an opinion. The overwhelmingly majority of people, even within the the LGB community, know this person is, from a biological point of view, a male. You can respect the way someone chooses to identify themselves without denying objective reality. Wendy is an ally, and Ellen is an icon of our community; the extreme trans pc-police owe them an apology for their out-of-control, tyrannical sensitivity.
DawnTrans
@Pistolo: Obviously you do not know what an apology looks or sounds like.
There is an old proverb that should be used by 90% of the gay community and its allies when it comes to discussing Trans issues and medical science. It goes something like this.
Its better to remain silent and appear stupid then to speak and prove it.
If you dont know what you are talking about dont talk about it. Wendy went on National TV and proved how ignorant she is about the trans issue.
hotshot70
I always thought Wendy Williams was a man anyway. The horrible voice and ugly ass wigs, I just assumed she/it was a cheap drag queen.
jayj150
@DawnTrans: You pretty much summarized the problem with trans extremists: you are NOT willing to engage in a conversation; you are not willing to listen to what anyone has to say unless it 100% fits your own view of things. It doesn’t matter if they’re allies like Williams and Morgan, it doesn’t even matter if they’re beloved LGB icons like Ellen, if anyone doesn’t 100% share your opinion on ANY issue(from acceptable humor, to athletic competitions, etc) you automatically dismiss them as an ‘irresponsible dumbfuck bigot’.
Thedrdonna
@jayj150: Who are you quoting as saying “irresponsible…”? It can’t have been Dawn, because she didn’t say that at all. And no someone is not an ally if LGBT people if they have no idea what they’re talking about when it comes to trans folks. And yes, if you’re a transphobe, that’s you’re right. But don’t pretend people can be allies and still hold those views, any more than someone can be an ally but think that homosexuality is immoral. (Pat Robertson said some things that were, when all is said and done, a lot less awful about trans folks than anyone on his side EVER says, but that doesn’t make him an ally to LGBT people, or not a bigot)
Ronbo
Wendy Williams is a FANTASTIC example of how our media culture is vapid and encourages us to wallow as imbiciles. I don’t understand why anyone would tune in for a second viewing. But then again, I don’t understand why diabetics go hog wild at buffets and subsequently must have their feet amputated.
I’d think watching that hot mess would make you want to amputate your brain.
twoguysbrooklyn
@hotshot70:
Agreed hotshot70. And didn’t “her” penis slip out of her panties on DWTS??
AlexM
Give it up Queerty! we all have moved on.
jayj150
@Thedrdonna: You people have done one heck of a job alienating LGB folks, and now you’re taking your fight to get everybody to dislike transpeople to maintream America. There’s NOTHING ANYONE can say or do that is not ‘transphobic’: Leto, Morgan, Williams, Rupaul, Couric, even freaking ELLEN!. You are running out of allies by the day.
jar
@jayj150: You either must be very young or not politically engaged at all. That line you are spewing has been used against gay and lesbian folks as well when we called out people for their ignorance. No one is above criticism. And true allies (esp. the g&l folks) understand this. Your ultimate message is- just shut up already. If we took that advice 40 years ago, we would not be where we are today. Hopefully, that is something that you will consider.
inbama
@jar:
Actually that’s not true.
We are where we are today because of “Outing” and AIDS.
AIDS showed the world gay people taking care of each other like family. They saw us create organizations like the Gay Mens Health Crisis to help where the government did not. And they heard stories about how discrimination against gay couples made dealing with disease and death even more difficult.
AIDS also resulted in a massive die-off of gay political leadership. Lesbians then entered positions of power in the movement, and gay issues suddenly changed from sexual freedom to family issues like Marriage Equality.
“Outing,” which older closeted gays of course hated, actually did lead people to see that there were gays and lesbians in their own family, and the result was powerful.
That is how the nation came to see us as human beings, and why there has been such swift progress.
Being obnoxious does not win allies.
Louis
@Ronbo:
My father was diabetic that was uncalled for.
Cam
I am a supporter of Trans rights, but I would like to ask one question.
Has anybody ever seen a post or an example where trans activists said anything nice about somebody who was either straight or LGB?
Just curious. Because I remember that the day that marriage became legal in NYC a trans activist used it as an excuse to write a screed attacking gays and lesbians, couldn’t even let that one day go.
If there is misunderstanding perhaps the style of communication is something to look at.
Thedrdonna
@Cam: Do you know anyone who is trans? I’ve met a large number of trans folks, and not one of those who are actually out in meatspace has said anything mean-spirited about LGB folks, as a class. Neither have any of the LGB folks I know (and there are plenty of them as well) said anything mean-spirited about trans folks. This animosity between trans folks and LGB folks seems to be an ephemeral product of the Internet that really mostly doesn’t occur in the real world. Not to mention, of course, that something like 2 in 3 trans folk are LGB, so they actually date other LGB folks.
Cam
@Thedrdonna:
I know many, and that is what I find disconcerting. That the Trans activists sound very different from the many actual trans folks that I know.
Thedrdonna
@Cam: I think that the Internet tends to cause people to say things they wouldn’t say to someone’s face, and it also makes it possible for assholes of all types to shout more loudly than they would be able to otherwise. I agree that there is some small subset of trans folks who are just as radical and problematic as TERFs, or MRAs, since any heterogenous population is always going to have a fringe. The Internet makes it possible for us to know about MRAs, TERFs, and radical trans folk, but I doubt that any of those groups represents mainstream schools of thought either inside or outside their greater population.
Cam
@Thedrdonna:
You are most likely right about that.
Tommy
I think the only reason she said some of the things she said was because throughout her career people have accused her of being a man. Even my dad and family would say “she features a man”, so accordingly after years and years of “abuse” it hits home for her. She probably didn’t mean for it to come out like that, no public figure would want to isolate those who follow and support them. It was just latent retaliation that she’s owning up to.
No harm done.
Thedrdonna
@Tommy: Hi Tommy. I agree that maybe she’s compensating to some degree for being read as trans, but I don’t think that excuses the crappy things she said, and gave a forum to. There are plenty of folks out there who say horrible, homophobic things because they feel they have to compensate for being read as gay, but I don’t think that excuses the things they say or makes them less harmful.
IcarusD
It is at least somewhat refreshing that instead of the typical blame-the-victim non-apology (“I’m sorry if anyone was offended by misunderstanding me”), Wendy Williams at least owned that she needed to educate herself more. Though perhaps a better time to do that would be before spouting off on something that she herself admits she doesn’t know anything about.
JennyFromdabloc
Cis is the new fetch. Stop trying to make it happen.
mjwatts
A lot of people (myself included) are not extremely educated on trans issues (although I would never intentionally misgender someone like she did). If she actually does make the effort to educate herself, then I think this is a decent apology. The only thing I don’t like is when people go “Hey I’m an ally! Back off me I’m only trying to help” which is kinda how her tweet felt to me.
GaGirl
@hotshot70 lmao,me 2
GaGirl
@GaGirl:
GaGirl
@hotshot70: lmao,me 2