Hollywood Rallied to Save Jimmy Kimmel, But the Trans Community Faces Federal Erasure in Silence
Progressive allies who rallied for a late-night host remain quiet as Trump administration targets transgender Americans
Good for Jimmy Kimmel.
He got his show back and with it, his bully pulpit from which he can continue battling Trump and his MAGA minions.
Kimmel's triumphant return — which has resulted in his highest ratings ever — was the direct result of a concerted effort by progressives and Hollywood en masse, coming together to boycott Disney products. Nothing catches the attention of a corporation more quickly than losing billions of dollars over a knee-jerk reaction.
Forgive me, but while I applaud the swift reaction and organized outrage that saved Kimmel's show, I'm also a little bitter.
Since Trump and company took office, the transgender community has been the stated target of the administration. They make no pretense of the goal, which basically is to deny our existence, take away our hard-earned rights and characterize us as actual dangers to society.
Consider for a moment what actions the Trump administration has taken against us since January:
On his first day in office, he issued an executive order directing all federal agencies to replace the term “gender” with “sex” in their policies and redefined "sex" to be understood as either male or female, unchangeable and based solely on reproductive cells at conception. It also directed all agencies to stop issuing documents that reflect a person's gender.
Another executive order cut federal support for gender-affirming care for individuals under the age of 19.
Another order curbed federal funding of any school that supported transgender students' social transition.
He issued the Department of Defense order to ban transgender people from serving in the military and, in some cases, denied trans veterans from receiving retirement benefits they earned.
He tried to ban trans women from participating in women's sports. In light of this, the NCAA quickly instituted such a ban in their competitions.
He directed all federal agencies to limit restroom use to the sex a person was assigned at birth.
And most recently, they have been implying that there is a connection between transgender people and mass killings. Some rumors assert that "Transgender Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism" (TIVE) will be designated as a new domestic terrorist category by the FBI.
That, of course, is only a partial list. Every day brings more bans and threats, so it's hard to keep up. But you get the idea.
So, where is the moral outrage? Where are our champions?
Celebrity types proudly come out and parade their trans children before the paparazzi as some sort of ideological prized calf. And they will issue self-aggrandizing proclamations of support for trans people. But where are the boycotts of companies that are now hostile to the trans community? In less than a week, over 400 entertainers signed an open letter protesting Kimmel's suspension by ABC. Have you seen any such letter protesting our treatment by the federal government?
Street protests popped up overnight in support of Kimmel. Rallies supporting us are generally only attended by trans people. And rarely do they ever make it onto a newscast.
Democratic politicians and media pundits screamed about the violation of Kimmel's First Amendment rights. I'm still waiting to see Barack Obama, Gavin Newsom (ha!) or J.B. Pritzker take to the airwaves with such righteous indignation about the ongoing discrimination we are enduring.
If I sound pissed, I am. The transgender community is facing an unprecedented attack upon our very existence. The federal government under Trump is doing all it can to erase any protections we have, to deny us any rights we thought secured and to even define us as violent sexual deviants.
Yet, all we hear from those we thought to be allies is silence.
No matter what fate Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show will have, he will be all right. He will still get jobs hosting the Emmys, stand-up comedy specials on Netflix and probably as an honored guest on "The View" or "The Tonight Show." And he will still be a millionaire.
But our fate is far more uncertain and dire.
It galls me when I see people idolizing people in the public eye — entertainers, sports stars, politicians — who pose and preen and virtue signal in order to placate the social media mob.
Stop it. They haven't earned our love. Not until they start treating us with the same respect that they give to others.
Never forget that we are fighting for our lives.
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