Mario Lopez on Wednesday apologized after remarks he made last month about transgender kids and their parents were brought to light.
Said Lopez in a statement: “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.”
Lopez also missed the latest taping of Extra, which he hosts, Deadline reports: “No explanation was given for Lopez's absence from today's show, although Extrahosts Renee Bargh and Tanika Ray addressed the controversy by interviewing GLAAD director Anthony Ramos and Dr Johanna Olson Kennedy, an expert on trans youth development at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.”
Extra producers also released a statement: “While we have enjoyed a long relationship with Mario Lopez, who we know to be a caring person, the opinions he expressed in this interview do not reflect those of Extra. We wholeheartedly embrace our friends from the LGBTQ community and believe they need support and love. For more support on these issues you can go to GLAAD.org.”
Lopez made the remarks in an interview with pro-Trump conservative Candace Owens.
Owens brought up what she said was a “weird trend” of celebrities acknowledging their child's gender identity, citing Charlize Theron as an example.
Said Owens: “I've had children say they were mermaids. I've had 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 and clarity…”
Lopez agreed: “I am trying to understand it myself, and please don't lump me into that whole [group of celebs]. I'm kind of blown away too. 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 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 that determination then, well, ‘OK, then you're going to be a boy or girl,' whatever the case may be … It's sort of alarming and my gosh, I just think about the repercussions later on..”
“To me I just see depression,” added Owens. “You can't make a decision about your sexuality when you're three years old.”
“When you're a kid … you don't know anything about sexuality yet,” Lopez agreed. “You're just a kid.”
Owens accused celebs like Theron of “narcissism” and “virtue signaling” for respecting their kids' gender identities.
Added Lopez: “I think parents need to allow their kids to be kids but at the same time, you gotta be the adult in the situation. Pause with that and — I think the formative years is when you start having those discussions and really start making these ‘declarations.'”
