Mario Lopez apologizes for 'ignorant' comments on transgender children following outrage for suggesting that it was a 'dangerous' trend
Actor and entertainment journalist Mario Lopez has apologized for his insensitive comments on transgender children. In a statement to PEOPLE on July 31, he said, "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," he shared before adding that he aims to be more informed and thoughtful in the future.
He had received a lot of backlash and criticism for his recent comments on 'The Candace Owens' show where he said parents should not allow their children to transition genders. He had stated that is "is a weird trend."
While on show in June, host Owens brought up "this new trend where celebrities are coming out… and saying that their child is picking their gender." In response to this, Lopez said he was struggling to understand the mentality, citing Charlize Theron's upbringing of her daughter Jackson, 7, who identifies as a transgender girl. Theron had spoken to DailyMail in April and said that her daughter Jackson had told her she was not a boy at the age of three.
Lopez said, "My God if you're three-years-old, I just think it's dangerous as a parent to make this determination then... it's sort of alarming and my gosh, I just think about the repercussions later on." He also added that when you're a child, "you don’t know anything about sexuality yet. You’re just a kid." Lopez had also shared that a child's "formative years" are a much more appropriate time to have such conversations as before that is "way too young."
"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," Lopez had said. Even though Lopez's interview was filmed in June, it resurfaced this week sparking outrage.