Mario Lopez might NOT be fired from Access Hollywood over controversial comments about transgender children
Mario Lopez’s September gig at Access Hollywood seems to have hit some choppy waters after the actor sparked controversy with his comments on transgender children. Lopez was recently hired to co-host the entertainment show and its daytime counterpart Access Daily.
A father of three, he said in an interview on the Candace Owens Show: "A lot of weird trends come out of Hollywood and one of the weirder ones, for me, is this new trend where celebrities are coming out—and I know Charlize Theron did this a few weeks ago—is saying that their child is picking their gender," adding that it was "dangerous" for the parents of transgender children to support their offspring's transition.
"If you come from a place of love, you really can’t go wrong,” he said. “But at the same time, my God, if you're 3 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 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.”
Recently, reports about his future at Access Hollywood were flying in the air and a source told RadarOnline, "The execs at NBC held an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss Mario’s future with the show because they do not see how they can just let this fly," adding, "Mario’s comments are not an accurate representation of what the network stands for at all. The network prides itself on equality and does not accept anti LGBTQ hate speech at all."
However, Yahoo reported that the speculations might not be true. Another source familiar with the situation told Yahoo that the reports of Lopez being fired are “NOT true.” He “is set to begin production,” the insider added.
After the backlash, Lopez apologized for his "ignorant and insensitive" transgender remarks and it seems that it was good enough for NBC.
The actor said that he came to understand “how hurtful they were” and added that he would use the experience to “better educate” himself and be “more informed and thoughtful” in the future.
Lopez is scheduled to make his debut on September 9 along with co-hosts Kit Hoover and Scott Evans. The 45-year-old star will replace Natalie Morales for the gig, who left in April.