January 3, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – The Good Place actress Jameela Jamil revoked an interview invitation to conservative activist Candace Owens this week over the latter’s commentary on transgenderism, sparking a social media argument over whether insisting on biological reality constitutes “bullying.”
On December 30, Owens announced that she would not be appearing on Jamil’s podcast, sharing a screenshot of a message notifying her that “we have a trans people (sic) working with us,” and “nothing is worth my friends and co-workers feeling unsafe”:
SAD TO ANNOUNCE that @jameelajamil has revoked my invitation to her podcast bc I tweeted “only women can give birth”. Apparently the statement made her trans co-workers feel “unsafe”.
My refusal to untether myself from biological realities has cost me, yet again.
SAD! pic.twitter.com/OTHcO0TEy4
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) December 30, 2019
Jamil apparently decided to disinvite Owens based on one of the latter’s tweets from the day before, in which Owens corrected media headlines about a “transgender man” (i.e., a biological woman) giving birth. Jamil accused Owens of “bullying” the couple in the tweet, a claim Owens rejected:
Woman gives birth to partner’s baby with male sperm donor.
There. I fixed it for you. https://t.co/JpzEF7VX5H
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) December 29, 2019
LOL “only women can get pregnant and only men can impregnate them” is now considered a form of bullying.@jameelajamil — keep us posted when 2+2=4 becomes a form of bullying as well. �� https://t.co/76VRqpIsvu
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) December 29, 2019
Over the next few days, Jamil doubled down on the “bullying” charge, accusing Owens of trying to incite hatred against gender-confused individuals:
She used her 2 million strong platform to belittle an innocent young trans couple having a baby. Inciting mocking and hatred. So she can’t come on my podcast. I’m down to talk to those with opposing views, but willful bullies are not welcome on my platform. Not sorry. https://t.co/V4wBXstIrO
— Jameela Jamil �� (@jameelajamil) January 2, 2020
No she said “there I fixed it for you” and misgendered the couple. She wasn’t trying to understand anything. My friends and colleagues are threatened when people use their platforms to try to incite hatred, erasure and mockery. And they are my concern, not some rent-a-bully.
— Jameela Jamil �� (@jameelajamil) January 2, 2020
In fact, to the extent that any “bullying” occurs in the transgender debate, it appears to overwhelmingly push in the opposite direction. In just the last year, criticism of “gender-fluid” ideology and failure to use transgender pronouns have been met with disciplinary action at public universities, lawsuits from disgruntled employees, public outbursts framed respectfully by a sympathetic media, and censorship from social media platforms.
“Pretending all trans people are too sensitive to come to terms with biological limitations is not, in fact, allying oneself with their cause,” Owens said of the controversy. “It’s treating people like toddlers who can’t function without the promise of make-believe.”