The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado alleges Children’s Hospital Colorado is discriminating against transgender patients by refusing to perform surgeries it offers to cisgender patients with other conditions.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Denver District Court, also states the hospital is discriminating on the basis of disability, because gender dysphoria — distress when a person’s sense of their gender doesn’t align with physical characteristics — is a medical condition.
The ACLU filed it on behalf of an 18-year-old Denver patient who was on track to receive gender-affirming surgery before the hospital discontinued that service.
The patient, who is identified in the lawsuit by the pseudonym Caden Kent, started receiving care at Children’s for mental health concerns when he was 16. He was diagnosed with gender dysphoria a few months later and had undergone about eight months of assessment before determining he was a candidate for surgery once he turned 18.
The hospital stated it had received an unusual number of referrals for gender-affirming surgery as programs shut down in other states, and that it didn’t shut down the program because of threats. It came at a time when children’s hospitals were scrubbing references to transgender care from their websites, though, with at least 21 removing information in 2022. A search on the hospital’s website for its TRUE Center for Gender Diversity no longer turns up any results.
According to the lawsuit, Kent chose to undergo surgery at Children’s because he received other care there, and hoped to recover from the surgery before leaving for college in the fall. Other surgical providers who accept his family’s insurance are booked up, meaning his parents will have to pay out-of-pocket for him to undergo the surgery in that time frame. Kent had resorted to chest-binding to ease his dysphoria, but found himself withdrawing from others when binding became too painful and he couldn’t otherwise hide the breast tissue, it said.
“(Children’s Hospital Colorado’s) abrupt cancellation of all gender-affirming surgeries for its trans patients was devastating to Caden, other impacted patients, and Colorado’s transgender community,” ACLU of Colorado legal director Tim Macdonald said in a news release. “Refusal to provide medically necessary care based on the identity of the person seeking it, and the condition for which they are seeking it, is discriminatory and illegal under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.”
LOS ANGELES, CA – Today, the TransLatin@ Coalition commemorated a significant milestone as it marked the launch of its 15th Anniversary Campaign during a press conference held in Los Angeles. The event also served as a platform to unveil the organization’s 2023 Annual Report, shedding light on its journey, accomplishments, and ongoing commitments.
Led by Bamby Salcedo, President and CEO of the TransLatin@ Coalition, the press conference highlighted the perilous situations faced by transgender and Latinx individuals in their home countries, where they often confront insurmountable violence.
Salcedo emphasized the harsh reality that many flee to cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco seeking asylum, only to encounter further violence and danger, often leading to deportation and, tragically, sending them back to potential harm or death.
A poignant moment of the event was the unveiling of a new logo commemorating the organization’s 15th anniversary, aptly dubbed their “quinceañera.” This symbolizes not only a milestone but also a renewed commitment to advocacy and support for the TransLatin@ community.
In a groundbreaking announcement, Salcedo revealed plans for a $35 million housing project aimed at providing safe and secure housing for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals. With $20 million already secured, this initiative underscores the organization’s dedication to addressing the pressing needs of the community.
The TransLatin@ Coalition, founded in 2009 by a group of transgender and gender nonconforming immigrant women in Los Angeles, has evolved into a nationally recognized organization with a presence in 10 states across the U.S. It offers direct services to transgender, gender nonconforming, and intersex individuals in Los Angeles, with a focus on empowering and improving the quality of life for its members.
Since its inception, the organization has achieved numerous milestones, including the establishment of the Center for Violence Prevention and Transgender Wellness in 2015, the opening of the first-ever TransLatin@ office in 2016, and the launch of the #TransPolicyAgenda in 2019.
The TransLatin@ Coalition’s advocacy efforts have also extended to legislative triumphs, such as the passage of AB2218 in 2020, which allocates grant funding for transgender wellness and equity programs, and supporting bills like AB1163 and AB 1487, aimed at advancing transgender rights.
With the recent expansion to include the El Monte site and the opening of a new building on Sunset, the TransLatin@ Coalition continues to broaden its reach and impact, reaffirming its commitment to serving the community and creating inclusive spaces where history is made and celebrated.
“Beautiful and amazing people, who are trans, gender non-conforming, or intersex, please know that you are beautiful and amazing and that you are valued. Do not feel alone. There is a whole movement that is fighting for you. Continue to assert your presence within the tapestry of our society. We love you, we see you, we thank you,” Salcedo told the Blade.
As the organization looks ahead to the next 15 years and beyond, its mission to advocate for the specific needs of the TransLatin@ community remains steadfast, guided by values of altruism, respect, transparency, and collaboration.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump attends a Nevada caucus night party at Treasure Island Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. February 8, 2024.
David Swanson | Reuters
Former President Donald Trump wrote a social media post earlier in the week asking his supporters to give Anheuser-Busch a “second chance” after UFC president Dana White personally asked him to back the beer company, a source told CNBC.
Anheuser-Busch last year suffered a major backlash over its Bud Light marketing promotion with a transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney.
White, whose UFC is the leading mixed martial arts promotion, reached out directly to Trump to encourage positive commentary about Anheuser-Busch, according to the source, who was familiar with the situation.
In his Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump appeared to be well-informed about detailed aspects of the beer company’s operations.
He noted that the company spends $700 million a year “with our GREAT Farmers,” employs 65,000 Americans and has provided scholarships to families of fallen members of the military. Trump wrote, “Anheuser-Busch is a GREAT American brand that perhaps deserves a Second Chance?”
UFC, which is owned by TKO Group Holdings, in October announced a partnership with Anheuser-Busch to make Bud Light the official beer partner of the mixed martial arts company, in a deal that was reported at the time to be worth $100 million.
In a press release announcing the deal, White said, “There are many reasons why I chose to go with Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light, most importantly because I feel we are very aligned when it comes to our core values and what the UFC brand stands for.”
A spokesman for UFC declined to comment on White’s conversation with Trump. A spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch did not respond to a request for comment.
In his social media post on Tuesday, Trump threatened to release a list of companies – other than Anheuser-Busch – that he considers to be “woke.”
“Am building a list, and might just release it for the World to see,” Trump wrote. His followers, Trump suggested, should be “going after those companies that are looking to DESTROY AMERICA!”
“Those comments came after Trump in a social media post on Sunday was much more critical of the company, saying: “the Bud Light ad will go down as the WORST AD in history.”
“In a matter of minutes 30 billion dollars worth of market cap simply disappeared from the face of the earth. Will they ever get it back? Who knows, but what a mess!” Trump wrote.
Trump, who is the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, attended UFC’s Dec. 16 event in Las Vegas, where he walked out into the audience with White and the musical artist Kid Rock.
Trump had attended two other UFC events previously in 2023, and had been at other of the promotion’s events in prior years.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration on Wednesday backed off its plans to impose rules that advocates feared would have restricted gender-affirming medical treatment for adults in a way no other state has.
The rules proposed by two state departments would have required psychiatrists, endocrinologists and medical ethicists to have roles in creating gender-affirming care plans for clinics and hospitals. Patients under 21 would have been required to receive at least six months of counseling before starting hormone treatment or receiving gender-affirming surgery.
The Department of Health and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services both issued revised proposals Wednesday after gathering public comment. Both said in memos that they were swayed by what they had learned as transgender people and care providers weighed in. The Health Department said it received 3,900 comments. In the new versions, the rules would apply only to the care of minors, not adults.
In a statement, DeWine’s office said the governor was seeking “administrative rules where there was consensus.”
“Governor DeWine has been focused on protecting children throughout this debate,” the statement said. “The changes reflect his focus on these priorities while reflecting the public comments received by the agencies.”
The Ohio departments said the rules will now advance to the next step of review before being implemented.
The draft rules would still require that patients under 18 receive at least six months of mental health counseling before they can receive gender-affirming medications or surgeries. The revisions made Wednesday also expand the list of mental health professionals qualified to provide the required counseling, adding clinical nurses, social workers, school psychologists and some physicians.
Further, a medical ethicist would no longer be required to have a role in developing facility-wide treatment plans for the care. In a memo, the Health Department said that change was made partly because institutions already use medical ethics professionals to develop policies.
Some parts of the rules regarding care for minors could have a muted effect. Last month, the Legislature banned gender-affirming surgeries and hormone therapies for minors by overriding DeWine’s December veto of that measure, which would allow children already receiving treatment to continue.
DENVER — Taliyah Murphy received a letter in early 2018 about a soon-to-be-filed class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of transgender women like her who were housed in men’s prisons in Colorado. It gave her hope.
Murphy and other trans women in Colorado had faced years of sexual harassment and often violence from staff and fellow incarcerated people. They were denied requests for safer housing options and medical treatment, including surgery, for gender dysphoria, the psychological distress that some trans people experience due to the incongruence between their sex assigned at birth and their gender identity, according to the lawsuit.
“We were targets for victimizing, whether it was sexual assault, extortion, you name it,” said Murphy, who was released from prison in 2020. Most of the time, she added, “The guards just looked the other way.”
Taliyah Murphy poses for a portrait outside the Denver City and County Building before a hearing on Jan. 4, 2023. Murphy is part of a class-action lawsuit that seeks to improve the safety and medical treatment of trans women in Colorado prisons.
Moe Clark for KFF Health News
A historic legal settlement called a consent decree, expected to be finalized by early March, would establish two new voluntary housing units for incarcerated trans women, making Colorado the first state to offer a separate unit, according to attorneys in the case. A federal law states such units are prohibited unless court-ordered. The plan outlined in the agreement, which received preliminary approval last fall, would mandate the Colorado Department of Corrections pay a $2.15 million settlement to affected trans women; update its protocols and staff training; improve medical and mental health care; limit cross-gender searches from correctional officers; and require corrections staff to use correct names and pronouns for trans women inmates.
A state judge held a hearing on the consent decree on Jan. 4 and is expected to finalize it by early March, after she granted an extension to allow more incarcerated women to be notified of the settlement. Approximately 400 currently or formerly incarcerated trans women are eligible to be beneficiaries.
Housing assignments in U.S. prisons are nearly exclusively made based on a person’s anatomy, despite a federal law outlining that the safety concerns for trans people should be taken into consideration when determining placement. That’s because they are significantly more likely than inmates who are not trans to be sexually or physically assaulted while incarcerated.
“It’s like putting targets on their back,” said Paula Greisen, the civil rights lawyer who filed the class-action lawsuit in 2019 alongside the California-based Transgender Law Center.
The U.S. Department of Justice found in 2014 that incarcerated trans people are much more likely to experience sexual violence behind bars from both staff and other incarcerated people, with 35% of trans inmates reporting having been assaulted in the 12 months prior to taking the survey. A 2007 study of trans women in California prisons found that 59% reported having been sexually assaulted during their incarceration, a rate 13 times higher than for others housed in prisons.
Colorado’s case comes amid a growing number of lawsuits across the country aimed at improving access to gender-affirming care and safety for incarcerated trans people. In a landmark 1994 case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prison officials’ “deliberate indifference” to a prisoner’s safety concerns violates the Eighth Amendment’s “cruel and unusual punishments” clause. Since then, incarcerated trans people have won legal cases against prison administrators in Washington, Georgia, California, and Idaho.
And while a handful of states, including Colorado, have written policies regarding gender-affirming care and surgery, the barriers to accessing care are often insurmountable — an issue the consent decree hopes to address. California became the first state to establish policies on gender-affirming medical care in prisons, providing gender-affirming surgery starting in 2017. In 2019, a three-judge panel ruled that the state of Idaho was required to perform a surgery officials had previously denied. One incarcerated person in Colorado has had gender-affirming surgery, according to a Department of Corrections spokesperson.
The Constitution requires jails and prisons to provide the same standard of care that individuals can access in the community, said Matthew Murphy, an assistant professor of medicine and behavioral sciences at Brown University and a physician who oversees gender-affirming clinical care for the Rhode Island Department of Corrections. (Matthew and Taliyah are not related.)
“With Medicaid and private insurance increasingly covering gender-affirming care,” he said, “there’s a growing precedent.”
There were 148 trans women housed in Colorado prisons as of December 2023, according to a Department of Corrections spokesperson, with nine trans women residing in women’s facilities. Before 2018, trans women were housed exclusively with men. The class-action lawsuit relates only to trans women and does not include trans men, nonbinary people, or intersex people.
The lawsuit was filed after a young trans woman who had previously been housed with girls in a juvenile facility was transferred to an adult men’s prison, where she was brutally raped. Her numerous requests to be housed with other women, citing safety concerns, had been denied. After taking on the woman’s case, Greisen quickly stumbled upon many more trans women who had experienced similar violence. She contacted the Colorado attorney general’s office and governor’s office, but little changed, prompting her to file the class action.
“The Department of Corrections in every state — it’s like trying to turn around the Titanic. There’s so much bureaucracy,” Greisen said. “You often have to sue to get their attention.”
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the leading professional organization that sets standards for the medical treatment of people with gender dysphoria, recommends an “informed consent model” that allows patients to pursue gender-affirming care, including surgery, without having to undergo extensive psychological counseling.
But Colorado’s prison system, like many across the country, doesn’t adhere to those standards. Current corrections department policies require trans women to receive multiple recommendation letters from medical and mental health providers to be considered for transition-related surgery. Often, prisons offer gender-affirming care “on paper” but lack qualified providers, making the care impossible to access, according to Matthew Murphy.
That was the case for Taliyah Murphy, who pursued gender-affirming surgery twice during her incarceration. Murphy went to prison in 2009, after a conviction resulting from an altercation with her abusive boyfriend, according to the lawsuit. Her sentence was reduced in 2013, she said.
In 2019, she finally received a recommendation for surgery to treat her gender dysphoria from a corrections department psychiatrist. But she was told that her other medical providers didn’t have the necessary training to evaluate her, according to the lawsuit, which halted the process. She received surgical treatment only after her release from prison in 2020, she said.
Gender dysphoria, left untreated, can result in depression, anxiety, thoughts of self-harm, and suicidality — all of which already affect trans people disproportionately due to the discrimination, stigma, and other social stressors they face. “Those things are generally resolved, or improved at least, by undergoing gender-affirming clinical care — whether that’s medical, procedural, or surgical,” Matthew Murphy said.
But prison systems are dragging their feet in providing treatment, he said, and a national shortage of gender-affirming care providers and surgeons makes matters worse.
“And so, people are then forced to go to the courts,” he said.
The consent decree will create two new voluntary housing options for trans women incarcerated in Colorado to better meet their specific needs and improve their safety.
A voluntary 100-bed transgender unit, whose development is already underway, will be located on the grounds of the men’s Sterling Correctional Facility. For those approved to move to the women’s prison, they will spend a few months in the 44-bed integration unit outlined in the consent decree.
That adjustment time will be critical for both the cisgender women already housed in the women’s prison and the trans women who are likely leaving traumatic situations in the men’s prisons, said Shawn Meerkamper, senior staff attorney for the Transgender Law Center, who worked on the case.
“We have seen in other places when folks are just dropped in a really new environment, it can be a sink-or-swim situation,” Meerkamper added.
Eligibility for the units would be decided on a case-by-case basis by a committee, including medical and psychiatric experts trained in gender-affirming care as well as prison officials, according to the settlement. But regardless of placement, Colorado’s corrections department would still be legally required to provide trans women access to adequate mental and physical health care.
“Trans women should not be forced to go to the trans unit or to a women’s prison if that’s not what they want,” Meerkamper said. “And they cannot be punished or retaliated against for refusing to go.”
In response to the lawsuit, the Department of Corrections has hired an independent medical expert from Denver Health, as well as a gender-affirming care specialist, to help oversee requests for housing assignments and surgical consults.
Taliyah Murphy hopes the new housing units and improved access to gender-affirming care will allow incarcerated trans women to focus less on safety and survival and more on rehabilitation and planning their lives outside prison walls.
“We want them to leave better off than they came in and get the care they need,” said Murphy, who is now a small business owner in Colorado Springs and is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting. “That’s what this is all about.”
KFF Health News, formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
Will Ferrell, best known for some of his blockbuster roles in Elf, Anchor Man, and most recently, Barbie, has created the documentary Will & Harper with his longtime friend Harper Steele as they discuss their friendship in light of Steele’s transition at the age of 61.
The response at Sundance was overwhelmingly positive, and we can’t wait to have access to it, too. Ferrell and Steele have been close friends for 30 years, having both cut their teeth working at Saturday Night Live as they made their grand entrance into the world of comedic entertainment. At the age of 61, Steele came out as a trans woman, thrusting Ferrell into a world he had “zero knowledge” about but wanted to explore.
“I had met trans people, but I didn’t have anyone personally in my life. So this was all new territory for me, which is why I think this film is so exciting for us to kind of put out there in the world. It’s a chance all of us in the cis community to be able to ask questions and also just to listen and be there as a friend to discuss this journey.”
Not wanting to exploit his friend, but feeling that this conversation would make for a great documentary, Ferrell brought it up with Steele to see if she would be open to it. Steele saw this as a great opportunity to simply watch two friends discuss the topic together, but also have Ferrell’s support and star power behind her. She spoke to The Hollywood Reporter on the decision, saying,
“It was only my second year of transition, and I thought this would help me dissipate some of the nervousness around it. Walking around with a big shot like Will was gonna be helpful to me.”
The film received a standing ovation, more than once, at the Eccles Theatre at its Sundance premiere.
What to expect
The film’s official synopsis reads:
“When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship in an intimate portrait of friendship, transition, and America.”
The documentary sees the two of them take a 17-day road trip from New York to California, making stops along the way at various locations that Steele would like to feel comfortable in after she came out. These included baseball games, dive bars, and classy restaurants.
It isn’t just the where that is important in this documentary but the who. Having met while working at SNL, the show and the people who have worked on it are incredibly important to both Ferrell and Steele. At various locations, they are joined by veterans of the show such as Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, and Molly Shannon. Of their impact and the reason they are a part of this documentary, Steele stated, “They were important to my transition; they’re my family.”
Will & Harper still mainly focuses on Ferrell and Steele and their friendship, with Ferrell wanting to be as authentic as possible. The actor breaks down in tears at certain moments during his conversations with Steele. For Steele, the opportunity to tell her story and share her experience at this precise time is invaluable, given how LGBTQ+ rights have been treated in recent years.
The documentary was directed by Josh Greenbaum, known for comedic series such as New Girl and Fresh Off the Boat, as well as comedy films like Strays and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. Though this film deals with some heavy topics, it still has several humorous moments. (How could it not, with a comedic duo at the center?)
Will we be able to watch it?
Will and Harper does not yet have a home to move to but is reportedly seeking distribution after it premiered at Sundance. Given its standing ovation response at the festival, it feels safe to say that it will likely find a way to our screens at some point in the future, hopefully later this year.
The former Fox News host Megyn Kelly spoke out on Monday to blast the Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley for refusing to say if a man can become a woman.
Nikki Haley trots out the small government line on transgender question:
“We want to make sure people can live any way they want to live. You should be free to live the way you want to live, government and everybody else can stay out of your way.” pic.twitter.com/44QQTpXsRP
During Monday’s episode of her eponymous SiriusXM talk show, Kelly played a clip in which Haley was asked “Can a man become a woman?” during a town hall in Iowa on Sunday.
“There’s been a lot that’s been talked about when it comes to, um, all of these roles and all of these issues,” Haley replied. “I strongly believe that we should not allow any gender change surgeries to anyone before the age of 18. Period.”
“We — kids now, can’t get a tattoo until they’re 18,” she continued. “We shouldn’t have them permanently change their body until they’re 18. And that includes puberty blockers. That includes any sort of hormones that would do that. After the age of 18 — we want to make sure people can live any way they want to.”
Kelly, however, was not having any of it.
“That’s a dodge,” Kelly said response to Haley’s comments. “The answer’s no.”
Kelly’s guest Dave Rubin agreed with her, pointing out that sex change surgeries do not change the patient’s gender.
“If I chopped my wang off live while we were doing this live, that wouldn’t make me a woman, and if you chopped some tissue off your arm and gave yourself one, that wouldn’t make you a man,” Rubin said. “I’m sorry, I know it’s a little early in the day. I’ve been under a lot of pressure with this caucus thing, but you get the point.”
Kelly could not help but laugh at this.
“Oh my god, this is like an X-rated show. Wangs and caucuses,” she said.
Kelly previously talked to The Washington Examiner about the transgender issue, saying that children are the ones “paying the price” with the uptick in young people identifying as trans and undergoing medical procedures such as hormone replacement therapy at early ages.
“It’s exploded from a very small niche mental health issue into something that is a social justice dangerous contagion that is leading to sterility,” Kelly said, going on to detail “the voluntary removal of healthy body parts [and] removal of custody from well-meaning parents who love their children” occurring as a result of this social movement.
“I really see this as the women’s rights issue of our time,” she said.
Kelly revealed in June of last year that though she was once protective of transgender people, she will no longer be using “preferred pronouns” because of how out of control this movement has gotten.
Last month, Haley said that she will “always fight” against biological boys playing girls sports.
“They can find a place for trans kids to play sports, but biological boys should not be playing in girls’ sports,” Haley said, according to The Advocate. “My daughter ran track in high school. I don’t know how I would even have that conversation with her. How do we tell our girls that it’s OK to have a biological boy in their locker room? It’s not. In no scenario.”
“You’ve got women who have worked so hard all their life to really get to points in high school and college where they want to, and to have a biological man, who’s physiologically different, athletically, go and take that away from those women, no, we’re not gonna erase the women like that,” she continued. “You can’t do that. You can find other ways of dealing with this, but it doesn’t have to be on the backs of our girls, who we’re trying to make strong. It’s the wrong thing to do, and I’ll always fight against that.”
Nikki Haley clarifies she’s against gender transition before age of 18, men in women’s sports, men getting into women’s bathrooms, and all the transgender woke movement. 👏🏻
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An Ivy leaguer, proud conservative millennial, history lover, writer, and lifelong New Englander, James specializes in the intersection of culture and politics.
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Dylan Mulvaney, the transgender influencer who cost Bud Light hundreds of millions of dollars last year after teaming up with the brand for a partnership, is celebrating after scoring a new female gender marker on a passport.
Mulvaney’s New Passport
“Starting 2024 with a new passport and an essay I wrote for @portermagazine on my pledge to stop people pleasing,” Mulvaney wrote on social media alongside a photo of the document. “Here’s to ease through TSA and the year ahead.”
Mulvaney included a link to a Porter essay in which the 26 year-old transgender influencer admitted that anxiety surrounding people-pleasing “is most noticeable at the airport.”
“I show up in a sweats set, but add femme accessories and earrings in the hope of not being misgendered,” Mulvaney wrote. “The TSA step-through scan is my worst enemy, and often I have to whisper into the officer’s ear, ‘Um, I’m trans.’ Has this TSA officer seen my videos? Do they believe trans people exist? Once I make it through security, I pull my face mask up and race through the terminal.”
“Airport bathrooms scare me more than anywhere else. I pray my mask hides the whiskers on my face that I still have left from hours of electrolysis and laser, though I know cis women have facial hair, too. Once I make it to the gate, I try to sit facing a wall so that no one can catch my eye,” the transgender influencer added. “I’m too nervous of the potential for hateful comments, which has happened plenty of times prior. I realize this limits me from the flipside – meeting lovely people who support me – but I don’t know if it’s worth taking the chance.”
Mulvaney went on to say that 2023 ended “on an exciting note” with the passport female gender marker update.
“I just got my gender marker and photo changed on my passport, so now the airport should be a little less daunting in 2024,” wrote Mulvaney. “I hope everything will be less daunting.”
“I hope that love pours over the hate and, most importantly, that the majority of the love comes from within,” Mulvaney concluded. “Because, really, the only person I need to please is myself.”
Laura Trump responded to the hate from the Left about this dress she wore:
“If I was Dylan Mulvaney, and there were some visible bulge available for the Democrats to celebrate, I’d be on the cover of Vogue in this dress.” 😂😂
This comes after Daily Mail reported that Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch announced that revenue in the U.S. fell by 13.5 percent between July and September in the wake of the Mulvaney partnership that came out back in April. On top of that, sales to U.S. retailers were also down 17 percent during that time period, with Anheuser-Busch admitting that this was largely due to a drop in demand for Bud Light.
As for Bud Light specifically, its sales were down 29 percent in the four weeks that ended on October 21 compared to the same period one year ago. This is in the wake of conservatives launching a highly affective boycott of Bud Light after the company teamed up with Mulvaney for the April partnership.
What do you think about Mulvaney’s new passport? Let us know in the comments section.
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An Ivy leaguer, proud conservative millennial, history lover, writer, and lifelong New Englander, James specializes in the intersection of culture and politics.
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Ricky Gervais has suggested a collaboration with fellow comedian Dave Chappelle at one of the entertainment world’s biggest nights, as both ride high with their controversial new Netflix specials.
Christmas Day saw the release of Gervais’ Netflix comedy special, Armageddon, which stirred up controversy before its debut over jokes the former Golden Globe Awards host had made about terminally ill children.
During an appearance on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Headliners podcast last month, Gervais addressed the backlash, seemingly blaming the reaction on the forum.
“I can play to a million people, I won’t get a complaint,” he said. “As soon as it goes on Netflix or as soon as someone writes up a joke that says this is offensive, people go, ‘Oh, that’s offensive.’ They haven’t even heard the joke. They weren’t there. Ignore them. They don’t count. They have no effect on me. They don’t count. They’re hecklers.”
Ricky Gervais is pictured left on March 1, 2020 in London, England. Dave Chapelle is pictured right on October 17, 2021 in London, England. Gervais has suggested that he and Chappelle host the Academy Awards after both comedians released controversial standup specials on Netflix days apart. Vera Anderson/WireImage;/Samir Hussein/WireImage
Days after Gervais’ Armageddon release, Chappelle returned to Netflix on December 31 with a new special called The Dreamer, in which he spent much of his comedy set talking about his aspirations when first starting out in the industry and how he learned how to become successful.
However, the comic sparked a public outcry when he dedicated the first portion of the special to transgender people after facing ongoing criticism for previous jokes he made about them in his other Netflix shows.
Both Chappelle and Gervais’ Netflix specials have debuted high on the streaming giant’s charts—which recently prompted Gervais to share a suggestion.
Posting a screenshot showing his and Chappelle’s high positions, Gervais wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “We should host The Oscars together,” along with a laughing emoji.
Like Chappelle, Gervais has faced criticism over his jokes aimed at transgender people. The Office co-creator’s 2022 standup show, titled SuperNature, divided opinion online when it was released on Netflix due to its material.
Gervais has publicly described himself as “pro-trans” in the past and told The Spectator in 2022 that his target isn’t “trans folk, but trans activist ideology.”
Meanwhile, Chappelle’s 2021 Netflix special, The Closer, faced similar controversy on its release. The special sparked Netflix staff walkouts, with employees charging that the show contained material widely branded “transphobic.”
Chappelle addressed those comments during another Netflix special What’s in a Name?—in which he called students who criticized him “instruments of oppression.”
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos initially defended Chappelle, saying: “We have a strong belief that content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm.”
An estimated 100 Netflix employees organized a walkout in October 2021 and the streaming service’s handling of the situation eventually led to the resignation of Terra Field, a high-level engineer for the company and the founder of its transgender employee research group.
Before the walkout, Netflix said in a press release: “We value our trans colleagues and allies, and understand the deep hurt that’s been caused. We respect the decision of any employee who chooses to walk out, and recognize we have much more work to do both within Netflix and in our content.”
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a bill Friday that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors. The bill would have also blocked transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and womens’ school and college sports.
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A federal judge declined Tuesday to pause litigation challenging Alabama’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors as similar cases wind upward toward the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. District Judge Liles Burke said no to a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to put the Alabama case on hold until appellate courts decide if they will hear related petitions on whether states can enact such bans. The Justice Department asked for the stay because, “this exceptional legal landscape is quickly evolving.”
Burke wrote that the case will move forward for now. He said a stay might be appropriate later if those petitions are granted.
Transgender young people and their families have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review an appellate court decision that allowed bans in Kentucky and Tennessee to remain in effect. In the Alabama case, families with transgender children have asked the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review a decision that would let the Alabama law take effect.
The Alabama case is scheduled to go to trial in April.
At least 22 states have enacted laws banning or restricting gender-affirming care for minors and most of the bans are being challenged in court.
The Alabama ban makes it a felony — punishable by up to 10 years in prison — for doctors to treat people under 19 with puberty blockers or hormones to help affirm a new gender identity. The law remains blocked by injunction until the 11th Circuit appeals court issues a mandate in the case.
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Students staged a walkout at their South Florida high school Tuesday after the principal and other staffers were reassigned over a transgender student being allowed to play on a girls volleyball team.
The employees at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, north of Fort Lauderdale, were moved to nonschool sites amid an investigation into “allegations of improper student participation in sports,” the local school district confirmed.
“Although we cannot comment further, we will continue to follow state law and will take appropriate action based on the outcome of the investigation,” John Sullivan, Broward County Public Schools’ chief communications and legislative affairs officer, said in a statement.
Students conduct a walkout Tuesday after the principal and other staff members were removed from their positions at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Florida.
D.A. Varela/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
With the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2021 made it law that transgender girls and women cannot play on female sports teams at schools.
Peter Licata, the superintendent at Broward County Public Schools, said the employees were relocated after a constituent called him directly last week about “some factors that were not appropriate for girls volleyball.”
“We want to do this right,” Licata said at a Tuesday press conference. “Nobody’s guilty of anything at this point. That’s what the investigation is for.”
A spokesperson for Florida’s Education Department said it expects “serious consequences” for anyone who breaks state law.
“Under Governor DeSantis, boys will never be allowed to play girls’ sports. It’s that simple,” the spokesperson said in an email. “As soon as the Department was notified that a biological male was playing on a girls’ team in Broward County, we instructed the district to take immediate action since this is a direct violation of Florida law.”
Monarch High School Principal James Cecil and an assistant principal, athletic director and information management technician were identified as the employees relocated. A school athletic coach, who was working on a temporary basis, also had his services paused amid the investigation, the school district said.
During their demonstration on a school athletic field, students held signs and chanted “trans lives matter” and “bring back Cecil,” according to NBC 6 South Florida, which captured aerial footage of the protest.
Students, speaking with local media, shared their reactions to the volleyball team controversy.
“I don’t think it should be a problem big enough for you to have the school’s principal reassigned,” one student told WSVN. “At the end of the day, that’s just an extracurricular.”
“I don’t agree with that. He shouldn’t be allowed to play on the team,” another student told the outlet, referring to the transgender volleyball player. “If he’s a biological boy, I don’t think he should play on the team.”
Safe Schools South Florida, a local LGBTQ+ organization for students, called the district’s handling of the situation an overreaction and expressed concern that the student had been inadvertently outed to her peers.
“None of her fellow students in the high school apparently knew that she was trans,” the organization’s executive director, Scott Galvin, told HuffPost. “She has successfully presented, for her entire school career, as a female.”
Though Galvin said that he hasn’t spoken directly with the student or her parents, he said he’s heard from other families who voiced concern that their trans children may be the next ones to have their private lives “trotted out for public discussion and debate.”
“No minor should have to go through what this young lady is going through right now, all so that somebody else can prove some kind of political agenda.”
– Scott Galvin, executive director of Safe Schools South Florida
“Parents are freaking out. Other parents that I’ve spoken to … are just scared,” he said. “The trans community is already so disenfranchised and discriminated against, from an adult standpoint, and the families that are dealing with trans children have to work around so many different things, including just having a child in the home and all of the normal parental things going on.”
He said he’s heard from some parents who want to speak out about the situation, but that they’re reticent because they don’t want to accidentally out their child or see them receive the same attention that the Monarch High School student got.
“No minor should have to go through what this young lady is going through right now, all so that somebody else can prove some kind of political agenda,” Galvin said. “It’s not fair, and it’s a real tragedy that she’s experiencing all of this.”
Cecil did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Earlier this month, a federal court dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Broward County high school student’s family that challenged the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act as unconstitutional.
The student, who was born male but is transgender, has been taking hormone blockers since age 11, and throughout middle school she played on a school soccer team and in a recreational league for girls, according to the lawsuit. Under current law, however, she’s barred from participating in school sports that match her gender identity.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled that the law does not violate Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education, or the U.S. Constitution.
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Nov. 20 marks Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual observance that honors the memory of trans folks whose lives were lost in acts of anti-trans violence. The last few years have seen an increase in anti-trans violence, a devastating and terrifying reality. There are many ways everyone can support the queer community all year long, but Trans Day of Remembrance is also a good opportunity to read or revisit works by trans and nonbinary authors.
From beautifully illustrated collections of poetry to compelling fiction novels to poignant memoirs, this list has something any reader at any level can enjoy. We’ve included names of staple pioneering trans authors, as well as some fresh faces we hope to introduce you to.
Whether you are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, a loyal ally, or someone looking to live through the lenses of these well-written authors, this list is something you can (and should) return to beyond Trans Day of Remembrance.
Pope Francis has received backlash for his decision to remove Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, who has been a vocal critic of Francis’ efforts to make the church more welcoming for the LBGTQ+ community.
Strickland has publicly scrutinized Francis for the Pope’s attempt to change the Church’s position on social issues, such as transgender rights and same-sex marriage.
In August, Strickland wrote an open letter to the “sons and daughters in Christ,” where he reiterated the “basic truths” of the Church, including how God sees marriage as “between one man and one woman” and how a “disordered attempt to reject” someone’s “undeniable biological and God-given identity” should not be supported.
Most recently, Strickland called Francis’ three-week long closed-door meeting on controversial issues facing the Church a “travesty.” Francis hosted the meeting in October, discussing issues like women in governance roles and welcoming LGBTQ+ members into the Church.
Pope Francis greets pilgrims and visitors during the recitation of the Sunday Angelus prayer at St. Peter’s Square on November 05, 2023 in Vatican City, Vatican. Francis has received backlash for his decision to remove Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, who has been a vocal critic of Francis’ efforts to make the church more welcoming for the LBGTQ+ community. Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images
Strickland’s governance of the diocese was investigated earlier this year by the Vatican. Following their investigation, a recommendation was given to Francis that “the continuation in office of Bishop Strickland was not feasible,” said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the head of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas, on Saturday. The investigation’s findings were never released.
The Vatican asked Strickland to resign on Thursday. When Strickland refused to resign, Francis removed him from office on Saturday, according to DiNardo’s statement. Strickland had insisted that he would not voluntarily leave his position in the church, saying in media interviews that he was given a mandate to serve by the late Pope Benedict XVI and couldn’t abdicate that responsibility.
Newsweek reached out to Strickland and the Vatican via email for comment.
Those in the Catholic community were outraged by Francis’ decision to remove Strickland, with some calling the pope a “dictator.”
Lepanto Institute, an organization that describes itself as committed to the “defense of the Catholic Church,” wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday, “Like a Soviet-era dictator, and in a raw exercise of power without provision of law, Pope Francis has removed Bp. Joseph Strickland as bishop of Tyler, TX.”
Frank Pavone, a laicized Catholic priest and anti-abortion activist announced the news of Strickland’s firing. “No reason given. But reasons should be given, out of respect for everyone impacted by this decision. We see a tyrannical weaponization of both civil and ecclesiastical government.”
Arcivescovo Carlo Maria Viganò, a bishop who is a Vatican whistleblower and critic of Francis called Strickland’s removal “a cowardly form of authoritarianism” in a post on X. Meanwhile, Catholic writer Peter Kwasniewkski posted “Tyranny pure and simple,” in response to Strickland being fired.
Retired U.S. General Michael Flynn, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, stood behind Strickland and wrote on X: “I want to make sure we don’t lose sight of who is among the top of the pyramid of the globalist elite trying to take over the world by first destroying it then ‘building it back better’ in their image. One of those at the very top is @Pontifex(Pope Francis).”
Meanwhile, Dr. Taylor Marshall, a Catholic YouTube commentator, posted, “This is a very sad moment for the Catholic Church in Texas and throughout the world. Pray for Bishop Strickland and pray for those who removed him.”
The Vatican confirmed that Strickland was “relieved” of the pastoral governance of Tyler and said that the bishop of Austin, Joe S. Vásquez, was appointed as the temporary administrator.
Rejoice always that…no matter what the day brings Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, yesterday, today and forever. May the saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary always inspire us to return to Christ no matter how we may wander into darkness. Jesus is Light from Light. pic.twitter.com/BInqtESYaH
Strickland has not directly responded to his removal, but he did write on X on Saturday, “Rejoice always that…no matter what the day brings Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, yesterday, today and forever. May the saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary always inspire us to return to Christ no matter how we may wander into darkness. Jesus is Light from Light.”
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — This summer, Sophia Machado packed her bags and left her home in Oregon to move to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where her sister lived and where, Machado had heard, residents were friendlier to their transgender neighbors and gender-affirming health care was easier to access.
Machado, 36, is transgender and has good health insurance through her job. Within a matter of weeks, she was able to get into a small primary care clinic, where her sister was already a patient and where the doctor was willing to refill her estrogen prescription and refer her to an endocrinologist.
She felt fortunate. “I know that a lot of the larger medical institutions here are pretty slammed,” she said.
Other patients seeking gender-affirming health care in New Mexico, where access is protected by law, haven’t been as lucky.
After her primary care doctor retired in 2020, Anne Withrow, a 73-year-old trans woman who has lived in Albuquerque for over 50 years, sought care at Truman Health Services, a clinic specializing in transgender health care at the University of New Mexico. “They said, ‘We have a waiting list.’ A year later they still had a waiting list. A year later, before I managed to go back, I got a call,” she said.
But instead of the clinic, the caller was a provider from a local community-based health center who had gotten her name and was able to see her. Meanwhile, the state’s premier clinic for transgender health is still at capacity, as of October, and unable to accept new patients. Officials said they have stopped trying to maintain a waitlist and instead refer patients elsewhere.
After her primary care doctor retired in 2020, Anne Withrow, a trans woman in Albuquerque, New Mexico, sought care at Truman Health Services, a clinic specializing in transgender health care at the University of New Mexico. “They said, ‘We have a waiting list.’ A year later they still had a waiting list,” she said. She was eventually seen at a local community-based health center instead.
Cecilia Nowell for KFF Health News
Over the past two years, as nearly half of states passed legislation restricting gender-affirming health care, many transgender people began relocating to states that protect access. But not all of those states have had the resources to serve everyone. Cities like San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., have large LGBTQ+ health centers, but high cost of living keeps many people from settling there. Instead, many have chosen to move to New Mexico, which has prohibited restrictions on gender-affirming health care, alongside states like Minnesota, Colorado, Vermont, and Washington.
But those new arrivals have found that trans-friendly laws don’t necessarily equate to easy access. Instead, they find themselves added to ever-growing waitlists for care in a small state with a long-running physician shortage.
“With the influx of gender-refugees, wait times have increased to the point that my doctor and I have planned on bi-yearly exams,” Felix Wallace, a 30-year-old trans man, said in an email.
When T. Michael Trimm started working at the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico in late 2020, he said, the center fielded two or three calls a month from people thinking about relocating to the state. “Since then, it has steadily increased to a pace of one or two a week,” he said. “We’ve had folks from as far away as Florida and Kentucky and West Virginia.” That’s not to mention families in Texas “looking to commute here for care, which is a whole other can of worms, trying to access care that’s legal here, but illegal where they live.”
In its 2023 legislative session, New Mexico passed several laws protecting LGBTQ+ rights, including one that prohibits public bodies from restricting access to gender-affirming care.
“I feel really excited and proud to be here in New Mexico, where it’s such a strong stance and such a strong refuge state,” said Molly McClain, a family medicine physician and medical director of the Deseo clinic, which serves transgender youth at the University of New Mexico Hospital. “And I also don’t think that that translates to having a lot more care available.”
Even in Albuquerque, waitlists to see any doctor are long, which can be difficult for patients desperate for care. McClain noted that the rates of self-harm and suicidal ideation can be very high for transgender people who are not yet able to fully express their identity.
That said, Trimm adds that “trans folks can be very resilient.”
Some trans people have to wait many years to receive transition-related medical care, even “when they’ve known this all their lives,” he said. Although waiting for care can be painful, he hopes a waitlist is easier to endure “than the idea that you maybe could never get the care.”
New Mexico had already become a haven for patients seeking abortion care, which was criminalized in many surrounding states over the past two years. But McClain noted that providing gender-affirming care requires more long-term considerations, because patients will need to be seen regularly for the rest of their lives. We’re “working really hard to make sure that it is sustainable,” she said.
As part of that work, McClain and others at the University of New Mexico, in partnership with the Transgender Resource Center, have started a gender-affirming care workshop to train providers statewide. They especially want to reach those in rural areas. The program began in June and has had about 90 participants at each of its biweekly sessions. McClain estimates about half of them have been from rural areas.
“It’s long been my mantra that this is part of primary care,” McClain said. As New Mexico has protected access to care, she’s seen more primary care providers motivated to offer puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and other services to their trans patients. “The point really is to enable people to feel comfortable and confident providing gender care wherever they are.”
There are still significant logistical challenges to providing gender-affirming care in New Mexico, said Anjali Taneja, a family medicine physician and executive director of Casa de Salud, an Albuquerque primary care clinic serving uninsured and Medicaid patients.
“There are companies that are outright refusing to provide [malpractice] insurance coverage for clinics doing gender-affirming care,” she said. Casa de Salud has long offered gender-affirming care, but, Taneja said, it was only this year that the clinic found malpractice insurance that would allow it to treat trans youth.
Meanwhile, reproductive health organizations and providers are trying to open a new clinic — one that will also offer gender-affirming care — in southern New Mexico, with $10 million from the state legislature. Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains will be part of that effort, and, although the organization does not yet offer gender-affirming care in New Mexico, spokesperson Kayla Herring said, it plans to do so.
Machado said the vitriol and hatred directed at the trans community in recent years is frightening. But if anything good has come of it, it’s the attention the uproar brought to trans stories and health care “so that these conversations are happening, rather than it being something where you have to explain to your doctor,” she said. “I feel very lucky that I was able to come here because I feel way safer here than I did in other places.”
This article was supported by the Journalism and Women Symposium Health Journalism Fellowship, with the support of The Commonwealth Fund.
KFF Health News, formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
Tuesday’s NBA season tipoff includes a historic moment for Highland Park native Che Flores.
The longtime basketball referee announced their status as nonbinary and transgender in an interview Sunday with men’s lifestyle magazine GQ. Flores is the league’s first such referee and is believed to be the first out nonbinary and transgender official in all major U.S. and Canadian sports.
Flores, who uses the pronouns they and them, was not available for comment Tuesday. But their former coach Jim Couch, who coached Flores at Burbank’s Bellarmine-Jefferson High School and Los Angeles Pierce College, said he wasn’t surprised Flores “climbed their way to the top.”
Flores “was a special player whose passion and effort led to [their] success,” Couch said. “That success is not a surprise.”
Flores, who grew up in Highland Park, is starting their second season in the NBA after working as a non-staff official during the 2021-22 season. They previously worked 10 seasons in the WNBA and nine seasons in the NBA G League, according to their National Basketball Referee Assn. profile. Flores worked both association’s finals series in 2022.
Previously, Flores spent 13 years officiating several NCAA leagues, including the Pac-12, Big 12 and Mountain West. They also worked the women’s Division I title game in 2021 and the Final Four in 2019.
Flores, 44, told GQ they weren’t seeking any spotlight with their announcement. Instead, they said, this is a way to provide visibility for queer youths.
“This is just to let young kids know that we can exist, we can be successful in all different ways,” Flores told the magazine. “For me, that is most important — to just be a face that somebody can be like, ‘Oh, OK, that person exists. I think I can do that.’ ”
A starting point guard on Bellarmine-Jefferson’s CIF Southern Section Division IV-A title team — the school’s first— Flores played with future WNBA player Jaclyn Johnson. Couch coached Flores at Bell-Jeff as the senior upped their postseason play, averaging 18 points, 8.4 assists and seven steals, topping their average of 11.9 points, 6.2 assists and 5.6 steals in the regular season.
After graduation, Flores moved on to Pierce College before transferring and playing two seasons at Cal State Northridge. There, Flores played 27 games over two years, finishing with 26 points, 18 rebounds, 19 assists and 10 steals.
Couch, who retired as Pierce College’s women’s basketball coach, last saw his former player in 2010 when they were officiating a community college women’s basketball game between Pierce and Ventura College, which the latter won by a few points, according to Couch.
“It was a game where I could have used a couple of calls, but [Flores] wasn’t having it,” Couch said with a laugh. “I think I had more calls against me.”
Flores’ announcement comes at a time when legislators and governing bodies worldwide have restricted or banned the participation of transgender athletes.
House Republicans passed a bill in April barring transgender females from participating on girls’ or women’s sports teams in federally supported schools and colleges.
World swimming’s governing body, FINA, also banned transgender women from competing in female events in 2022.
Flores told GQ that “being misgendered as she/her always just felt like a little jab in the gut.” But since the announcement, Flores said they “can go through the world, and even my job, a lot more comfortably.”
Russian lawmakers on Friday passed a law banning gender-affirming procedures in the country as the Kremlin continues its campaign of dismantling individual freedoms and instilling values it believes to be “traditional.”
Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of the parliament, unanimously approved the bill in its third and final reading.
The law seeks to introduce major amendments that outlaw any “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person” and prohibit people from changing the gender marker in official documents or public records as well as becoming foster or adoptive parents.
The authorities will also be able to dissolve marriages involving people who previously “changed gender” even if this union is “of different sexes,” the document says.
The bill will need to be approved by the Federation Council, the upper house of the parliament, and then get President Vladimir Putin’s signature. There is little doubt that the bill, which deals another blow to the country’s oppressed LGBTQ+ community, will breeze through the bureaucratic hoops and come into force.
File photo of a 2022 session of the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.
Getty Images
Russian officials lauded the bill as means of protecting the country’s “national interests” against what they called “Western anti-family ideology” and preserving Russia’s “traditional foundations” for the sake of future generations.
“The Western transgender industry is trying to seep into our country, to open up the window for its multibillion-dollar business,” Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy said at a recent hearing before launching a scaremongering tirade about the “network of sex change clinics with trans-friendly doctors” that allegedly target young people for profit.
“This won’t lead to anything good; this is total satanism,” said the speaker of the parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, in the same hearing.
Tolstoy also mocked what he called “an emotional conclusion” issued by the country’s Health Ministry, which warned of the bill’s harmful effects on transgender people.
Pyotr Tolstoy, deputy speaker of the Russian parliament’s lower house, the State Duma,during an interview with AFP in Moscow on January 26, 2018.
VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP via Getty Images
“If the bill is passed, there will be a deadlock when individuals whose gender, officially recognized by medical professionals, does not align with the sex stated in their passports, would find themselves unable — poor things — to reconcile their passport data with their self-perceived reality,” he said.
“This discrepancy could result in ethical, medical, and social issues, and may even — can you believe it? — lead to a rise in suicides across the country,” Tolstoy added.
This anti-Western, anti-LGBTQ+ stance dates back to a decade ago when Putin steered his platform towards conservatism with “traditional family values” as the cornerstone of the country’s domestic policy.
Multiple discriminatory laws have been passed since, starting with 2013 legislation restricting LGBTQ+ rights known as the “gay propaganda” law, which banned any public endorsement of “nontraditional sexual relations” among minors.
Since the invasion of Ukraine last year, Russian authorities ratcheted up their rhetoric, methodically weeding out anything they deemed a “degrading Western influence,” including rights groups that advocated anything from helping domestic abuse victims to preserving records of Soviet repressions.
In 2022, the original law targeting “gay propaganda” was expanded to cover adults, outlawing any positive or even neutral representation of LGBTQ+ people in the public sphere, movies, literature or media, forcing the already rare number of LGBTQ+-friendly spaces to shrink.
The executive director of the Independent Psychiatric Association of Russia, Lyubov Vinogradova, called the law “misanthropic” in comments to the Russian newspaper Kommersant in late June.
“It was prepared without any consultation with psychiatrists. We see an attempt to regulate issues related to science, medicine, by non-professional legislators — without discussion, without public hearings, but simply jumping on this for political reasons,” said Vinogradova.
Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney has broken her silence about transphobic backlash after a video she made in partnership with Bud Light led to harassment from people who vowed to boycott the beer company. Bud Light is now no longer the top-selling beer in America, ceding that spot to Modelo.
Mulvaney, 26, said Bud Light failed to stand with her amid the outrage as she faced a wave of hate that left her afraid to leave her home.
“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all,” she said in a TikTok posted Thursday.
The controversy began in April when Mulvaney posted a video to her Instagram page promoting Bud Light, which sent her a beer can with her face on it as part of a March Madness campaign. Prominent conservatives were quick to respond with videos of their own, showing themselves destroying Bud Light stock while complaining the company had gone “woke.”
In response, Bud Light CEO and Anheuser-Busch owner Brendan Whitworth wrote a tepid statement: “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
Suspected Bud Light purchase likely led to altercation outside Vaughan liquor store: police
Mulvaney feels the company’s response wasn’t enough, and criticized Bud Light for failing to reach out to her in the months since the controversy began.
“What transpired from that video was more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined,” Mulvaney said. “For months now I’ve been scared to leave my house, I’ve been ridiculed in public, I’ve been followed, and I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
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“I patiently waited for things to get better, but surprise, they haven’t really. And I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me but they never did.”
The TikTok star, who has more than 10 million followers on the platform, indicated that Bud Light’s lack of a response to the wave of hate “gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want.”
“To turn a blind eye and pretend everything is OK, it just isn’t an option right now,” she said.
“We remain committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community. The privacy and safety of our employees and our partners is always our top priority. As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best — brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter to our consumers,” a spokesperson wrote.
Mulvaney said in her video that she’s not looking for pity in sharing her experience with harassment.
“I’m telling you this because if this is my experience from a very privileged perspective, know that it is much, much worse for other trans people,” she said. “The hate doesn’t end with me. It has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community and, you know, we’re customers too. I know a lot of trans and queer people who love beer, and I have some lesbian friends who could drink some of those haters under the table.”
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Mulvaney first rose to fame on TikTok with her “Days of Girlhood” series of videos, which saw her document her gender transition near-daily while racking up hundreds of millions of views.
She urged her followers on Thursday to support the transgender community and to continue doing so outside of Pride Month.
“Supporting trans people, it shouldn’t be political,” she said. “There should be nothing controversial or divisive about working with us, and I know it’s possible, because I’ve worked with some fantastic companies who care. But caring about the LGBTQ+ community requires a lot more than just a donation somewhere during Pride Month.”
“I’ve always tried to love everyone, even the people that make it really, really hard,” Mulvaney said. “It’s OK to be frustrated with someone, or confused, but what I’m struggling to understand is the need to dehumanize and to be cruel.
“Dehumanization has never fixed anything in history, ever.”
Dylan Mulvaney breaks silence on Bud Light controversy: “Dehumanization has never fixed anything”
Transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney said Bud Light failed to support her or even reach out after she became the focus of conservative backlash stemming from a video she posted featuring a personalized can sent to her by the company.
“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all,” Mulvaney said in a video on Thursday. “It gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want.”
The 26-year-old, who has 10.6 million followers on TikTok, detailed her experience working with Bud Light, a company she said she loved. Mulvaney said she filmed one Instagram video on April 1 with a customized Bud Light can that had her face on it, which she said the company sent her.
“I’m bringing it up because what transpired from that video was more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined,” Mulvaney said.
She said she took time to respond to the backlash because she was waiting for the anger to die down and for the brand to reach out to her — two things that haven’t happened, according to the social media star.
“I should have made this video months ago, but I didn’t and I was scared and I was scared of more backlash,” Mulvaney said. “I patiently waited for things to get better, but surprise, they haven’t really. And I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did.”
Mulvaney, who grew her social media presence with her “Days of Girlhood” series, said the hate she’s received because of the collaboration has made her feel personally guilty for what happened and fearful for her safety.
“For months now, I’ve been scared to leave my house, I have been ridiculed in public, I’ve been followed,” the influencer said. “I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
She also noted that the online attacks directed at her have reverberated throughout the trans community.
“The hate doesn’t end with me. It has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community,” Mulvaney said. “To turn a blind eye and pretend everything is okay, it just isn’t an option right now.”
Mulvaney lamented that LGBTQ+ rights and support are still considered controversial.
“There should be nothing controversial or divisive about working with us,” she said. “Caring about the LGBTQ+ community requires a lot more than just a donation somewhere during Pride Month.”
A spokesperson for Bud Light parent company Anheuser-Busch told CBS News in a statement, “We remain committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community. The privacy and safety of our employees and our partners is always our top priority. As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best – brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter to our consumers.”
Anheuser-Busch did not address whether or not it or Bud Light had reached out to Mulvaney since the controversy began.
In a “CBS Mornings” interview on Wednesday, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth avoided answering whether he would send the personalized can to Mulvaney again if he had the chance to do things over again. He said the company is sending financial assistance to distributors and wholesalers affected by the dip in sales since Mulvaney’s video.
Whitworth also said that the impact on the company’s employees is what “weighs most on me.”
Bud Light has seen a decline in sales since collaborating with Mulvaney, recently losing its long-held spot as the best-selling beer in the U.S.
Federal judges in Kentucky and Tennessee temporarily blocked portions of bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth Wednesday, handing down the rulings shortly before the statutes were set to go into effect. The rulings are similar to roadblocks federal courts have thrown up against Republican-dominant states trying to prevent young people from receiving transgender health care.
Meanwhile lawmakers in North Carolina finalized their own version of a gender-affirming care ban on Wednesday.
At least 20 states have enacted laws restricting or banning such treatments even though it’s been available in the United States for more than a decade and is endorsed by major medical associations. Yet, when challenged, federal courts have been quick to block them from going into effect.
A federal judge struck down Arkansas’ ban as unconstitutional last week and federal judges have temporarily blocked bans in Alabama and Indiana. Oklahoma has agreed to not enforce its ban while opponents seek a temporary court order blocking it. And a federal judge has blocked Florida from enforcing its ban on three children who have challenged the law.
In both Kentucky and Tennessee, the judges blocked portions of the law that would have banned transgender youth from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapy. In the Tennessee case, the judge stopped short of also blocking the ban on gender-affirming surgeries for youth.
The Kentucky case didn’t address surgeries but U.S. District Judge David Hale, an Obama administration appointee, did side with seven transgender minors and their parents, who sued the state officials responsible for enforcing the provisions banning the use of puberty blockers and hormones. The plaintiffs contend the ban would violate their constitutional rights and interfere with parental rights to seek established medical treatment for their children.
The ruling blocked the “most egregious parts of Kentucky’s anti-trans law,” said Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign, a Kentucky-based LGBTQ+ advocacy group.
Hartman added that transgender children and their families were “living in fear” of the approaching date for the restrictions.
Kentucky’s Republican Attorney General, Daniel Cameron, called Hale’s decision “misguided,” saying it “tramples the right” of state lawmakers to make public policy. The state’s legal chief promised that his office will continue doing “everything in our power” to defend the measure. The provisions dealing with puberty blockers and hormone therapy were supposed to go into effect Thursday.
In Tennessee, U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson, a Trump administration appointee, stressed that his ruling lined up with federal decisions blocking similar bans across the country but added that courts must “tread carefully” when preventing a law from being enforced.
“If Tennessee wishes to regulate access to certain medical procedures, it must do so in a manner that does not infringe on the rights conferred by the United States Constitution, which is of course supreme to all other laws of the land,” Richardson wrote.
The law, scheduled to go effect on July 1, would have banned Tennessee health care providers from providing hormone treatments or surgeries for transgender youth where the purpose is to allow the child to express a gender identity “inconsistent with the immutable characteristics of the reproductive system that define the minor as male or female.”
The law included a nine-month phase out period by March 31, 2024 for medical treatments and said no new treatments could be started. Health care providers who violated the law risked facing a $25,000 penalty and other disciplinary actions.
Tennessee’s Republican-dominant General Assembly, as well as some Democratic lawmakers, quickly advanced the ban after Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center was accused of opening its transgender health clinic because it was profitable. Videos surfaced of a doctor at the private hospital touting that gender-affirming procedures are “huge money makers.” Another video showed a staffer saying anyone with a religious objection should quit.
Republican leaders demanded an investigation into the hospital and used the incident to spur their political base ahead of the 2022 midterm elections
The political tension has also popped up in Kentucky, where Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear is running for a second term this year and is being challenged by Cameron, who is defending the gender-affirming care ban. The race has become one of the nation’s most closely watched campaigns in 2023.
Beshear originally vetoed the measure in March, saying it allows “too much government interference in personal healthcare issues” but the state’s GOP-dominated legislature overrode the veto.
In North Carolina, legislators gave their final stamp of approval Wednesday to a prohibition of certain gender-affirming care for children and the prevention of the use of state funds to provide such therapies and procedures.
The House voted 67-46 to accept a version of the measure approved by the Senate on Tuesday. The legislation would bar any medical professional from providing hormone therapy, puberty blockers and surgical gender transition procedures to anyone under 18, with some medical exceptions.
Young people who begin treatment before Aug. 1 could continue receiving such care if it’s considered medically necessary and their parents consent.
The bill, written by Republicans, now heads to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, whose veto is likely. Cooper has expressed opposition to bills that target trans youth. The GOP holds narrow veto-proof majorities in both chambers.
If the bill is enacted into law, critics have already signaled litigation. Most of the 20 or so states with laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors face lawsuits.
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