Who is Taylor Chandler? Michael Phelps' intersex ex blasts Olympian on Lia Thomas remarks
The Lia Thomas controversy has continued to dominate American sports, with legendary swimmer Michael Phelps weighing in. However, it appears his comments haven't gone down too well. Responding to his January 17 interview, Phelps ex-girlfriend slammed his comments as "hypocritical." Taylor Lianne Chandler also said his words were "a literal slap in the face," in a scathing attack of her former boyfriend.
For those unaware, Phelps comments are about University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. She courted controversy in December 2021 after competing in the NCAA's Women's championships, after 3 years of competing as a man. It blew up after Thomas not only shattered several records, but other female swimmers revealed they were "uncomfortable" having Thomas use the same changing room.
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Speaking to CNN, Phelps compared Thomas' participation in women's competitions to doping, and said "it has to be a level playing field." That led Chandler to angrily respond on January 27, with an interview where she slammed her ex-boyfriend.
Who is Taylor Lianne Chandler?
Born as David Roy Fitch, a male, Chandler is a vocal gender rights activist who was born intersex, i.e. with male genitalia but no testicles, and with a uterus and no ovaries. From a very young age, she began identifying as a girl, and by the time she was a teen, she began using testosterone blockers and estrogen enhancers. She also named herself Paige Victoria Whitney during this time.
At 15, Chandler field home and ran into trouble on several occasions. She was arrested for writing a bad check and then DUI and also spent 30 days in jail for extortion. She reportedly tried to blackmail someone in order to get money to fund her corrective surgery. In 2001, she also suffered a "horrific" car crash, which acted as a huge wake-up call for her.
Eventually. she did get her surgery to complete her transition and went on to get a degree in social and behavioral sciences. She also studied sign language interpreting. In 2004, she opened her own consignment shop, but nearly a decade later found her "true calling" in crisis management. In 2014 2014 she met Phelps via Tinder. Shortly after their relationship became public, Chandler and Phelps broke up as she found herself struggling in the public eye.
However, she still continues her work as an activist and author. She's currently part of the National organizing team for the National Trans Visibility March and Capital Pride Alliance. Chandler is also Board President of FLUX Aids Healthcare Foundation and linked to numerous other organizations. In 2019, she married Matthew Meagher-Walker but continues to publicly speak about her ex and relationship with him.
'He doesn't fully understand the science'
Speaking to Radar Online, Chandler said, "He doesn't fully understand the science, advantages or disadvantages." Chandler called Phelps "genetically superior," before slamming his doping allegations by responding, "Even he says that he never competed on a level playing field, inferring doping, and they still could not beat him." She added, "that moment of watching and hearing him say those things, it felt like a literal slap in the face. I felt like I was good enough to love, lay with and be with, but not be respected or allowed in the women's sport of swimming – like I was not a woman, but rather an alien or God-knows-what."
Chandler then weighed in on the controversy herself, telling the publication there "need to be standards for trans women in sports," but on a "case-by-case and sport-by-sport" basis. "It should not be blanket rules that you are identified by your sex assigned at birth. That can lead to outing trans youth who have lived stealth after transitioning young and classmates not being aware of their transition."
She also went on to slam the way the conversation has blown up. "It's not like trans women are dominating any sport overall. It is a pocket here and there around the country that the press jumps on to make it seem like it is a world pandemic." She also said the NCAA should introduce a "three years of medical intervention" mandatory rule before athletes are allowed to compete professionally.