Source: Joshua Blanchard / Getty
Serious backlash hit The Breakfast Club when Lil Duval stopped by the radio show on July 28. In a ridiculous “joke,” he said that a trans woman would have to die if he discovered her identity after sexual contact. Though the hosts said — through some laughter — Lil Duval’s comments would be considered a hate crime, Charlamagne tha God added transgender folks should be locked up if they don’t disclose their identity. Days later, activists interrupted him at Politicon yelling “Trans people are not a joke!” and there were people demanding to boycott The Breakfast Club.
Nearly every media outlet covered this bad press, but one headline angered Charlamagne. He sent a legal letter to Rolling Stone saying their online article titled “Janet Mock on Charlamagne tha God’s Transphobic Comments” was defamatory. He claims he didn’t make transphobic comments.
Rolling Stone changed the headline to “Janet Mock Speaks Out Following Charlamagne tha God’s Controversial Morning Show,” but Charlamagne still wasn’t satisfied. He demanded an apology and full retraction.
Rolling Stone issued an apology to Charlamagne and they’ve retracted the article saying, “Rolling Stone mischaracterized Charlemagne’s position in its original search headline, conflating comments by Lil Duval, a guest on his show, with his own. We sincerely apologize to Charlamagne for the error. Charlamagne has since clarified that he believes violence against transgender people is wrong and has declared himself an ally of trans people.”
On August 3, Charlamagne released a statement acknowledging the number of trans women of color killed this year and stated, “The Breakfast Club will continue to do what it always does and that provides a platform for the voiceless.”
Insisting trans people should be locked up if they don’t reveal their gender identity or grilling Janet Mock on her genitalia simply because she is a trans woman is not exactly giving a “platform for the voiceless.” With allies like The Breakfast Club, who needs haters?
