‘I’m not going to listen to transphobia at this table!’ CNN panel explodes over a perceived ‘slur’

The term “slur” did a lot of heavy lifting as an activist grew heated with a fellow CNN panelist for pointing out opposition to boys playing in girls’ sports.

“I’m not going to listen to transphobia at this table!”

Friday on “CNN NewsNight,” Rabbi, Rolling Stone columnist and openly gay activist Jay Michaelson demonstrated in real time why gender ideology remained a losing issue for the left. Amid a discussion reflecting on the presidential election, Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton’s points on how “regular people” view the issue triggered a real-time meltdown.

After Michaelson had referred to the GOP base as “Christian nationalist,” Singleton interjected to critique the idea that it was exclusively the ardent supporters of President-elect Donald Trump who took issue with how gender ideology was impacting girls’ and women’s spaces.

“I think there are a lot of families out there who don’t believe boys should play in girls’ sports,” he said only to be immediately interrupted by a fit from Michaelson who ranted, “They’re not boys! I’m not going to listen to transphobia at this table!”

“When you use a word that’s a slur, I’m gonna interrupt. That’s not how it is,” he continued as Republican strategist Erin Perrine added, “It’s not transphobia.”

While host Abby Phillip endeavored to allay her guest and retake control of the panel, saying, “Jay. Jay,” the activist continued, “They’re not boys. They’re not boys. I’m not going to sit here and listen to that.”

“Let’s just reset because, look, this is a really heated issue, right?” tried Phillip. “And Shermichael, I know you, I know that you understand that people have different views on this. I think out of respect for Jay, let’s try to talk about this in a way that is respectful.”

“Okay, let me rephrase this since I’m being targeted here,” stated Singleton as the host insisted despite his being the position challenged, “Just to be clear, you are not being targeted.”

The co-founder of Guns Out TV began again, “So the way regular people interpret it, which is why those ads were effective,” only to have Michaelson further push Orwellian restrictions to language as he interrupted, “It’s not regular people. There’s no consensus that these are actually boys. This whole thing about trans girls is a canard. If we’re talking about a tiny, tiny sliver of the population…”

Despite the downplay of the issue as a “canard,” a United Nations report found nearly 900 medals that would have gone to female athletes had been awarded to males as of March 2024 across 29 different sports.

“My point in terms of its effectiveness,” Singleton went on when he resumed speaking. “Regular people with children look at these things and they say, you know what, this is a bit too far. I don’t agree with this. I don’t like this. I think Democrats are going way too much to the left on social issues. They’re uncomfortable with it.”

“A lot of people believe that. A lot of families believe that. You may disagree with that reality, but that’s why Republicans kept running those ads over and over  and over again because they saw the metrics suggesting that they were working,” he continued while Michaelson tried to argue the position that biology remained the determining factor was somehow “a war on science.”

As Singleton argued on X that the “sentiment isn’t partisan; it’s common sense,” despite CNN’s treatment, social media users decried the “trans activist” over his radical stance.

Kevin Haggerty

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles