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Jonathan Van Ness Shuts Down Megyn Kelly's Transphobic Bullying
"Advocating for trans inclusion in sports and trans rights does not take away from women's rights."
Jonathan Van Ness easily shut down right-wing soapbox orator Megyn Kelly for mocking them after a tense podcast exchange they had with Dax Shephard on his podcast Armchair Expert about trans kids.
In a recent episode of Shephard’s podcast, JVN was meant to talk about their own podcast, but the conversation quickly became derailed when Shephard argued that The New York Times is still a progressive and left-leaning newspaper despite publishing plenty of anti-trans content.
“To even question it makes you an enemy. I don’t think that’s the way forward,” Shephard argued, saying that some parents are uncomfortable with kids taking hormones and that women and girls lose out when trans athletes are included in sports.
After a tense back and forth, Van Ness started to tear up. “I could just cry because I’m so tired of having to fight for little kids because they just want to be included,” they said. “I wish that people were as passionate about little kids being able to be included or grow up as they were about fictitious women’s fairness in sports.”
Of course, people on the right are attacking Van Ness, but this is nothing new. Now, however, they’re making fun of them for getting emotional and crying (because they view Van Ness as a man and they think it’s “gay” and “weak” for a man to cry). One of those who tried her hand at mocking Van Ness was Megyn Kelly.
Since she doesn’t have any actual arguments, Kelly resorted to childish behavior. She pretended to cry and said, “I’m so tired too, I'm so tired. I’m tired of having to stand up for my daughter’s right to play sports with other girls. I’m tired of having to stand up for the volleyball player down in North Carolina…”
Factually, no trans athletes are stopping her daughter from playing sports with other girls.
JVN was having none of it, so they quickly made their own video on their Instagram account to shut her down.
“Megan woah, I had to meet you on a press tour for your fourth hour today show. Show that got canceled, but you did make millions of dollars in that cancellation, so good on you. Girlboss power. Love it,” they said. “But here’s the thing: I don’t think you would make a video of every time a high school or collegiate athlete gets injured playing volleyball or basketball or soccer or baseball or any of those sports when she gets injured by a cisgender competitor, which happens all the time.”
“Why? Because sports are dangerous,” they continued. “Trans girls don’t make sports dangerous, they are dangerous.”
“Advocating for trans inclusion in sports and trans rights does not take away from women’s rights. Women deserve the same access to money, advertising dollars, resources, training, facilities, scholarship opportunities, and professional league opportunities that men do, and I’m advocating for that all the time.”
“I believe in women’s rights. I believe in women’s right to choose. I believe in trans rights,” Van Ness continued. “I’m advocating for all the people. That’s what I try to do and all the best to you.”
And that’s that on that, Megyn Kelly.
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Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
