Last night Breitbart.com’s Ben Shapiro went heard to head with transgender reporter Zoey Tur for an HLN debate about Caitlyn Jenner and her ESPYs Courage Award.
Dr. Drew Pinsky whether Jenner deserved the ESPY award after “courageously coming forward, for having been an athlete of great prowess, and now fighting a new battle,”
Mediaite reports:
Shapiro spilled his disdain for the entire concept of transgenderism: “What exactly is the battle? I mean, self-definition is what you do, and my baby’s doing it at 18 months old. I was unaware that you get a medal for it.” And when Shapiro refused to call Jenner and Tur by anything but male pronouns, the segment went straight down the tubes. “Forget about the disrespect,” Shapiro said, in the full clip first reported by Breitbart.
“Facts don’t care about your feelings. It turns out that every chromosome, every cell in Caitlyn Jenner’s body, is male, with the exception of some of his sperm cells.” We both know chromosomes don’t necessarily mean you’re male or female,” Tur replied, and then put her hand on Shapiro’s shoulder. “So you don’t know what you’re talking about, you’re not educated on genetics.” That prompted Shapiro to ask: “What are your genetics, sir?” And off we go. “You cut that out now, or you’ll go home in an ambulance,” Tur shot back while holding Shapiro by the back of his neck.
he rest of the show’s guests then explained to Shapiro how he knew full-well his use of “sir” was meant to be inflammatory, but he was not moved. “It’s not a matter of aggressively insulting,” he said. “The entire discussion is whether we are embracing mental illness and delusion as a society.”
When the conversation resumed after a commercial break, the fire hadn’t subsided. Tur told Shapiro, “You’re consumed with hatred,” after the conservative commentator denied any ill will towards the transgender community. “You’re a little man,” she added. “Little boy.”
Knowing HLN, if Zoey and Ben had gone to blows the producers (and especially Drew) would’ve probably egged them on. This pick of guests and seating was clearly deliberate. But I must admit that I’d pay good money to see Zoey kick “Little Ben’s” pompous ass across the studio and back.
