Mario Lopez was forced to apologize after he came under fire for his controversial comments about raising transgender children, according to a source.
The Extra host appeared on Candace Owens’ podcast in June and suggested that it was ‘dangerous’ for the parents of transgender children to support their offspring’s transition.
After a backlash, the father-of-two was absent from filming at Universal Studios in Los Angeles and issued an apology on Wednesday, calling his own words ‘ignorant and insensitive’.
Lopez is due to start hosting Access Hollywood in September and a source told RadarOnline Wednesday: ‘No one in his camp knew how they would be able to spin this and justify his remarks. They told him to make a public apology, stat!’
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Mario Lopez was reportedly made to apologize after he came under fire for his controversial Candace Owens Show comments back in June about raising transgender children. Conservative pundit Owens asked him about what she described as a ‘new trend’ where Hollywood celebrities are ‘saying their child is picking their gender’
Lopez was absent from Extra on Wednesday when he released a statement. Renee Bargh and Tanika Ray carried the show and hosted a segment about the controversy
Many people came out in support of Lopez, saying he had nothing to apologize for. However the former star of children’s TV show Saved By the Bell gave in and said sorry after considering the impact on his career.
‘He is more than aware of how bad this could be for him,’ the insider added to Radar.
Many conservatives, including Donald Trump Jr, voiced their support for the TV star and his remarks.
‘I literally can’t see anything wrong with what Mario Lopez said here that would cause the Outrage Mob try to destroy him,’ Don Jr wrote on Twitter.
‘He was as reasonable and accepting as anyone could be but because he may have had doubts about letting a 3 Year Old make a permanent decision hes killed? (sic).’
Extra brought in GLAAD director Anthony Ramos and Dr Johanna Olson Kennedy, a leading expert on trans youth development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, as Lopez was absent
‘I literally can’t see anything wrong with what Mario Lopez said here that would cause the Outrage Mob try to destroy him,’ Don Jr wrote on Twitter Wednesday
Piers Morgan replied on Twitter to the Human Rights Campaign’s tweet that Lopez’s ‘comments are dangerous to the safety and well-being of LGBTQ youth, especially trans children who deserve to be loved and accepted for who they are’.
Morgan responded: ‘What nonsense. No 3-yr-old child can possibly self-determine their own gender or sexuality. Mario’s been shamefully bullied into apologizing for stating what every parent knows to be the truth. I’ve had 4 kids & they could barely determine what day it is at that age.’
The Good Morning Britain host continued in a response to India Willoughby, a Celebrity Big Brother star who reports for his morning show.
Willoughby commented on his tweet: ‘99% of people on this thread (bar me) are not trans. You’re viewing it through your own prism. “I never felt that way – they must be nuts.” If kids are adamant for YEARS they are in the wrong body, then guess what – they’re not changing their mind. Let them switch.’
Morgan retweeted it and commented for his 6.7 million followers: ‘You know I don’t think transgender people are nuts. I do however think it’s nuts to let a 3-yr-old make any life-altering decision about anything. They haven’t a clue.’
Lopez suggested it was ‘dangerous’ for parents of transgender children to support their offspring’s transition and received a public backlash after the comments to Candace Owens
Piers Morgan replied on Twitter to the Human Rights Campaign’s tweet about Lopez
Morgan responded: ‘Mario’s been shamefully bullied into apologizing for stating what every parent knows to be the truth’
Lopez was inexplicably absent from Wednesday’s taping of Extra, where fellow hosts Renee Bargh and Tanika Ray addressed the controversy. His name is still listed to appear alongside them for Thursday and Friday.
DailyMail.com did not receive and immediate response when contacting a rep for Extra about his scheduled appearances.
On Wednesday, Extra brought in GLAAD director Anthony Ramos and Dr Johanna Olson Kennedy, a leading expert on trans youth development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
‘I think the question about when do you know your gender, what age are you when you know your gender, is a very important one because we understand that people know their gender at the age of three or four years old. This is a big body of research that was undertaken in the 1970s,’ Olsen-Kennedy said.
Ramos added: ‘I think it is important to realize that people can say: ‘Yes, I support the community, I have gay friends. My cousin or my aunt is a lesbian.’ I think it is wonderful. But at the end of the day it is important to be educated on all aspects of our community.’
Lopez appears to be in hot water with the producers on Extra, who released a statement saying: ‘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.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to reps for Lopez, Extra and Access Hollywood for more information on his standing.
He is due to take over fired Access host Natalia Morales next month.
Owens name-dropped Charlize Theron, who openly declared last month that her seven-year-old Jackson (above together) identifies as a girl
Lopez made the remarks on the Candace Owens Show back in June when conservative pundit Owens asked him about what she described as a ‘new trend’ where Hollywood celebrities are ‘saying their child is picking their gender’.
Owens specifically name-dropped Charlize Theron, who openly declared last month that her son Jackson identifies as a girl.
‘I am trying to understand it myself, and please don’t lump me into that whole [group],’ Lopez bristled.
‘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.’
Appearing misinformed, Mario suggested transgender people were simply choosing a gender on a whim instead of recognizing them as people whose gender identity differs from the sex the person had or was identified as having at birth.
‘I just think it’s dangerous as a parent to make that determination then — “Okay, well then you’re going to be 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.’
He also went on to conflate sexuality – which relates to one’s sexual orientation – with gender identity telling Owens: ‘When you’re a kid… You don’t know anything about sexuality, you’re just a kid.’
Talk about it: Jonathan fired back at the Extra host on Twitter and told him to ‘be quiet’ about LGBTQ+ matters
Preach: Van Ness wrote ‘The persecution that trans & non binary people face bc some small minded people are blindly identified with the gender binary is deadly’
Lopez told parents they have to be ‘the adult in the situation’ and wait until their child’s ‘formative years’ to make determinations about gender or transitioning.
‘I personally think it’s just way too young to start making these… I know other parents who have certain parenting styles that I necessarily don’t agree with, but I do know they’re good people and they’re coming from a good place,’ he said.
His comments elicited a strong response from the LGBTQ community as well as allies, who slammed the former Saved By The Bell actor for his ignorance.
But by Wednesday, Lopez apologized to the LGBTQ community for his comments.
‘I now have a deeper understanding of how hurtful they were,’ he said.
‘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,’ Mario told People in his statement. ‘Moving forward I will be more informed and thoughtful.’
Reaching out: Karamo Brown also chimed in on the harsh words from Lopez and wrote: ‘I don’t think @MarioLopezExtra should be ‘canceled’. But I do believe he should be given the opportunity to learn why his comments are harmful to trans youth and their parents. Mario, I’m ready to talk when you are’
It seemed like the queer community’s outcry lead Lopez to reflect about his comments.
Before Mario’s Wednesday ‘mea culpa’ Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye urged him to ‘do better.’
The 32-year-old took to Twitter to share a few choice words explaining why Lopez’s comments on the conservative show were unnecessary.
‘If you’re not raising a child who is part of the LGBTQ+ community you should really be quiet,’ Van Ness wrote to his followers. ‘You don’t need to understand what you do not know. You both need to do better, your causal transphobia is par for the course. Christianity says leave judgment to god.’
Jonathan added on Twitter: ‘The persecution that trans & non binary people face bc some small minded people are blindly identified with the gender binary is deadly. Trans & Non binary people face violence, death, homelessness, discrimination because of this constant lack of understanding and need to judge.’
Fellow Queer Eye coach Karamo Brown also chimed in on the harsh words from Lopez and wrote: ‘I’m disappointed to read [Lopez’s] comments about parents who support their child’s openness about their gender identity. As a social worker I am trained to identify abuse or neglect of a child. Healthy & safe dialogue w/ kids is neither abusive, neglectful or ‘dangerous.”
Karamo even offered to talk to Mario about his confusion, writing: ‘I don’t think @MarioLopezExtra should be ‘canceled.’ But I do believe he should be given the opportunity to learn why his comments are harmful to trans youth and their parents. Mario, I’m ready to talk when you are.’