“Utterly Cretinous Absurdity!” Olympics Trans Ban + Soccer Star Branded ‘Transphobic’ Over Article

0:01This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome? That's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required, compatibility and availability varies 18+. I've had a lot of combos with my teammates. They are disgusted by some of the things that were said in the article.

0:31Piers Morgan:Don't let your teammates bully you. You're right. They're wrong. Reasonable people can disagree when it comes to this topic, but there's no need to go to name-calling and bullying. This insistence from trans rights activists and people on the left that trans women are women, and they've reduced it to this one sentence, this one slogan, that's what creates this ridiculous argument. Patriarchy just hate women and just want to bully them on every single level. Not a statement of utterly cretinous absurdity. The International Olympic Committee says it's moving toward a complete ban on transgender women in female categories, ending years of dithering and delay.

1:06Piers Morgan:Initial findings from a science-based review indicate that athletes born male retain obvious physical advantages even after treatments to reduce testosterone levels. The ban will be in place before the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. This is despite Democratic candidate for governor, Betty Yee, telling me that she'd like to see a gender-neutral Olympics. I think transgender female athletes are women athletes. Wow, really? So if you were governor of California, you would support biological males who identify as women competing in women's sport in the Olympics? They are now identified as transgender female.

1:51Piers Morgan:And you think it's fair that they should then compete in women's sport? I think they should be able to compete in women's sport. Well, as ever, trans activists blame right-wing flamethrowers for amplifying a minority issue. But this week brought more evidence that if there is any organised lobbying to silence criticism from the other side, it's the LGBTQIA2SL plus campaigners. The leaked BBC memo, which exposed its hatchet job on President Trump, also had plenty to say about this issue. It revealed that a team of specialist gender reporters kept critical stories off air, resulting in, quote, a constant drip feed of one-sided stories, celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity.

2:37Piers Morgan:These included glowing reports about the nutritional benefits of trans breast milk.

2:46Piers Morgan:Well, joining me now to debate all of this is Angel City FC's player, Elizabeth Eddy, commentator and YouTuber, Blair White, the trans rights advocate, Dr Helen Webley, and the comedian and commentator, James Barr. Elizabeth, let me start with you. You wrote an op-ed piece about this issue, which led to a furious reaction from some of your teammates. First of all, for those who didn't read the op-ed, what was the central point of your argument? First of all, thank you, Pierce, for having me. You've got a really cool thing where you bring a lot of people to the table with differing views. I think that's the way forward, so thank you.

3:25What I wrote the op-ed about is that I believe women's sports do need to be for women simply because biological sex is, as women are weaker than men, intersex and trans athletes. That has nothing to say against intersex or trans athletes. They're people and they're amazing and they deserve to be respected. But because women have biological weakness, they need to be protected.

3:48Piers Morgan:And what was the reaction to your op-ed? You had your own colleagues who you play with going public and attacking you. We've all obviously seen the article that was written in the New York Post earlier this week. So I really want to start off by saying that that article does not speak for this team in this locker room. I've had a lot of combos with my teammates in the past few days, and they are hurt and they are harmed by the article, and also they are disgusted by some of the things that were said in the article. So that was Sarah Gordon, one of your teammates, calling it transphobic. What was your reaction when you saw that?

4:31Reasonable people can disagree when it comes to this topic, but there's no need to go to name-calling and bullying because it doesn't set a good example moving forward.

4:42Piers Morgan:I mean, that must have caused, I imagine, a lot of tension between you guys. Have you been able to resolve things? As it stands, I have invited her to my wedding and she has said yes. And the invite's been sent out and it still stands because, again, I think offering an olive branch and trying to find the space where we can coexist and have these conversations is really important, but I haven't heard back yet. I mean, my experience, I have to say, is that if you raise your head above this parapet, we've seen it with Riley Gaines, J.K. Rowling and others, any woman who stands up and says this is unfair, which it is, immediately gets branded transphobic to shut them down.

5:23Piers Morgan:Do you think that that is a pretty lazy and disingenuous way of dealing with this debate? I do and I also understand where people can get really emotional and that's where it might take a little time to come back to the table but I do think in time like given like compassion and kindness of just showing goodwill of continuing to say hey I'm here to discuss we can do this together we don't have to fully agree but we do need to talk about it so we can move it forward instead of completely shutting down the conversation. Okay Dr. Ella Wobley I mean I literally had a candidate to be governor of California on last two weeks ago, arguing there should be a gender neutral Olympics, seemingly oblivious to the reality that if there was a gender neutral Olympics, women would barely win any medal.

6:12Piers Morgan:They might win, I think, one or two bronzes in the entire Olympic Games. It would be the end of women's sport. So why is what we've just heard from Elizabeth wrong? Why is she not actually just defending the obvious integrity of women's sport against something which is obviously unfair? I mean, I think, Piers, that we all want fairness and we all want... We don't want anything to be unfair. And I think that's what your guest is saying. But it's what is making it unfair? Is it the fact that they are transgender or is it the fact that they have a bigger body or bigger lung capacity or a stronger grip or better exercise tolerance?

6:52And it's, are we banning the right thing? Are we banning the thing that actually leads to unfairness, which is a gender identity, rather than the advantage? That's the question. We all want fairness in sport, and nobody wants women's sports.

7:07Piers Morgan:But the obvious question, well, would you endorse a gender-neutral Olympics? I don't think that's the way forward, no. I don't think that everyone in the same... Why? Why? Well, for the very reasons that you've just said. I mean, you say that we'd only get a few bronzes as women, but maybe in the less powerful sports. I mean, I can't see a gender-neutral Wimbledon final ever having a female winner. But darts or... Why do you think that is? Well, you know why it is, because the majority of adult men who've gone through puberty are stronger, as your guest said, than adult females. Right, so you agree.

7:51Piers Morgan:that actually the trans athletes should be banned from the olympics as appears to be why are you banning trans it's it's the transgender thing because it's it's that blanket ban of a gender identity because they're biological men but again that's an i that's just a sex but what we're trying to do fairness in sport so we want people to have just sex it's their biology their biology gives them an unfair advantage over biological women it's just a fact that's why we separate the sexes. That's not this whole debate actually is right. I think that's a bit of a sweeping statement. I'm a bit dumb of you, to be honest.

8:24If you're not actually listening to what your doctor you've got. Well, it's not about whether they're trans or not. It's about their biological differences. And if we looked at sport, if we looked at everybody's bodies and capability different and categorised people by strength, then we could have a gender neutral Olympics because we'd have people who are equal playing against each other. Okay.

8:44Piers Morgan:Which event do you think we could have a gender neutral Olympics? I have no idea, but if you look at people's bodies and their shapes and their sizes and their strength instead... I don't know, slapping. Let's look at slapping contests. I'm pretty sure there's a lot of people that would like to slap you regardless of shape. To be honest with you... I'm sure there are, mate, but not... I'm sure there are, but would you like to see 100 metres, for example, which have men and women in it? I'm only saying that that would work if people are categorised by their ability rather than their biological sex.

9:14No, it's complete nonsense.

9:16Piers Morgan:It's complete nonsense. People's biological sex affect their ability. Well, in which case they wouldn't be in the same category, would they? But if you're looking at it fairly and openly for everybody, you would look at capability. And if it so happened that all men were separate because they were definitely better than women in this case or stronger or whatever it is you're saying, then you wouldn't have them together. James, you're totally and utterly deluded. Well, I think you're deluded because you're always making this debate. And then a third category for this gender-neutral idea. Let me explain something to you.

9:48Piers Morgan:Serena Williams was asked publicly on television whether she could beat any of the top 1 ,000 men. I think John McEnroe had said it, and then she was asked whether she agreed that none of the top 1 ,000 men would lose against Serena Williams at her peak, that she's the greatest tennis player in female tennis history. She admitted that she would probably not beat any of the top 1 ,000 men players in the world. There, right there, is the problem. Because Serena is a fantastically strong, powerful female tennis player. But we're not talking about men. We're talking about... Who's the greatest to ever play the game.

10:21Piers Morgan:We're talking about other women, trans women. We are. No, we're not. This is the problem, though. We're calling them women. They're trans women and they're trans athletes. But we aren't aware of when they transitioned or what their biology is, and that, I guess... It doesn't matter. It does, actually. It doesn't matter. regardless of when they can access it. I think that's what we're really talking about. It does matter. No, what matters is their biology. Are you a doctor? Blair, Blair. Are you a doctor? I mean, Andrew Jane Thornton, which presented the IOC. I know more than the doctor, yes, about this.

10:54Piers Morgan:Right, sure. Eczema is unpredictable, but you can flare less with EpGliss, a once-monthly treatment for moderate to severe eczema. After an initial four-month or longer dosing phase, about four in 10 people taking EpGliss achieved itch relief and glare or almost-clear skin at 16 weeks. And most of those people maintain skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing. EbGliss, LibriKizumab, LBKZ, a 250 milligram per two milliliter injection, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema, also called atopic dermatitis, that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical therapies.

11:32EbGliss can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to EbGliss. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with EBCLIS. Before starting EBCLIS, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. Ask your doctor about EBCLIS and visit EBCLIS.lily.com or call 1-800-LILY-RX or 1-800-545-5979. Okay, Piers did throw it to me. So if I could just say fourth grade biology debunks trans women and women's sports. So the fact that the IOC even had to weigh in is actually really sad.

12:06I don't really know the argument that these other two on the panel are trying to make. Yes, there are biological differences from trans women and biological women because there are biological differences between men and women. And I feel like they're kind of playing in this game of like they just don't want to admit it. But this is that like 80-20 issue, at least here in the States, that like it's ridiculous. It's even being debated. And the fact is, it's not just a few things that differentiate men and women when it comes to puberty. It comes to heart size, lung size, bone density, overall size, height, lung capacity.

12:43It's such a long list. It's so thoroughly debunked. And frankly, you know, as a trans person on the panel, I'm so sick of these sorts of issues being pushed on to women, first of all, and also trans people. The last decade of these progressive policies that have supposedly meant to push society forward into a more inclusive society to help trans people have actually just turned trans people into this political football that no one, frankly, on this side that I know of asked for. But then you always have, and this is a perfect example, time after time on this panel, people who are not trans arguing for these policies that do nothing but enact backlash against trans people.

13:23And so it's kind of hard to understand where you guys are coming from. I know you're doing it in the name of like fairness and equality and you want to fight for the underdog. Can I tell you where I'm coming from? I think you guys have it twisted who the underdog is because if it's a woman versus a trans woman in a sport, the underdog is the woman. Can I tell you where I'm coming from? Because I think that's a really valid point and I appreciate it. I am basically here because I genuinely believe that conversations like this are using trans people as a political football and it's ridiculous and wrong.

13:54And actually, when we're talking about fairness in women's sport, we shouldn't be focusing on 0.0001 % of trans women who compete in the Olympics. We should be talking about pay differences. We should be talking about the misogyny. We should be talking about the fact that one statistic said 65 % of women in sport in the UK have been abused by cis men. That's what we should be talking about when it comes to women's safety in sport, not a non-issue. Those conversations have gone on. Hang on, Blair.

14:25Piers Morgan:Hang on. Hang on, Blair. Hang on. I want to take him up on that. OK, so you've just made a very impassioned statement about wanting to protect women and protect women's rights. Am I right? Yeah, I feel like you think you've got some gotcha here, Piers, but I'm ready for it. Not a gotcha. I'm just going to take you back to the Olympics, the last Olympics, where an Algerian boxer called Iman Khalif, who had been banned from the World Championships for having male chromosomes beat up a young female Italian boxer so badly in the female competition that the Italian boxer quit after 40 seconds, saying she'd never been hit that hard in her life.

15:04Piers Morgan:And they are a woman. So where is your campaigning? And they are a woman. No, no. And it's funny that you bring that up because... Iman Khalif is not... Iman Khalif is not a woman. And all Iman Khalif has to do is take a sex test, which will be what they all have to do going forward to establish that once and for all. But Iman Khalif has resolutely refused to do that. We know why, because she was caught before the last world championships testing positive for male chromosomes. So you would basically be endorsing, in your campaigning for women's rights and protecting women, for biological men to get in a boxing ring and beat up women in a way that could endanger their lives.

15:44Piers Morgan:Iman Khalif is a woman. are a ridiculously deluded hypocrite. Imam Khalif is not a woman. They are a woman. That's what they've told us. They're a woman. I think chromosomes are very complicated. I don't protest to know or understand chromosomes, but I do realise that some people are also intersex. Some people have more chromosomes to the male or female. It doesn't mean they're not necessarily a man or woman, born a man or woman at birth. And what you're saying here is you're basically saying that I am not advocating for women's safety because I believe that a man was OK. But what you're doing here is you're actually attacking a woman yourself.

16:21So are you advocating for women's safety whilst you're on television across the world attacking a woman? Let me answer.

16:29Piers Morgan:Yeah, go for it. Let me answer. I'm attacking a biological man for cheating by competing in women's sport... But they're not a man, Piers. ..knowing that they have a superior biology and physique. They're not here to defend themselves, but they're not a man. It's why they won the gold medal. And that is cheating. It's as cheating as doping. They have an unfair physical advantage. And in a boxing ring, it can be a fatal, unfair physical advantage. So all the hypocrites like you, James, all do you respect... No, but that comes back to my point about biological... I'm here to defend. I'm here to...

17:02Piers Morgan:I want to protect women against vile cisgender men... It's just ridiculous. ...or whatever you want to call people like me. You've transitioned from an equal pay argument, a misogyny argument, and an abuse argument... It is ignorance. ...to one woman. at the Olympics in Paris. Not one woman. Not one woman. That's what you've come back with. That's the argument you've come back with. No, no. Let me finish my point. My argument is all trans athletes should be banned from women's sport. And what do you think should happen to the misogyny that's occurring in women's sport by cis men? What are your thoughts on that?

17:33Piers Morgan:That should also be banned and targeted and people held to account. Do you think so? Absolutely. 100%. Do you think we should talk about that a bit more? Do you think the balance is slightly off? I've probably written more about that than you have. I'd imagine you have, yeah. I'd love to read it. I can't wait. So, thank you. Let me come back to Elizabeth, if I may. This is part of the thing, Elizabeth, is a lot of the people who kind of, in my opinion, virtue signal about women's rights, they do so right to the point where they cannot bring themselves to see common sense about this trans issue with sport.

18:11Piers Morgan:when to me it's so obvious. And I say that as someone who identifies as pretty liberal, right? I want trans people, I think they have a right to exist. I believe they exist. I want them to have rights to fairness, equality and safety, but not at the expense of women's rights. That's why I applaud you for that op-ed you wrote, because obviously, obviously biological men, which is why we separate the sexes in sport historically, at the Olympics, at world championships and so on, they obviously have an unfair advantage. TO ME, IT IS THE SAME AS DOPING. YOU'RE JUST CHEATING.

18:48I AGREE WITH PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING YOU JUST SAID. AND I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO DO IS PROTECT WOMEN'S CATEGORY IN ALL LEVELS. SO THERE IS, LIKE, MISOGYNY HAPPENING, BUT IT ALMOST HAPPENS IN AND OF ITSELF THROUGH THIS TRANS SITUATION AND INTERSEX. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, LIKE PIRESH WAS SAYING, THE TRANS AND INTERSEX PEOPLE ARE VALUABLE. THEY NEED TO BE PROTECTED. They also are vulnerable, but they're differently vulnerable than women. And women do need their own category, which is why we fought for women's rights, why we have women's sports, why Title IX happened.

19:17And so moving forward, the same way women fought for rights to be protected and have spaces is the same way we can move to protect trans people and intersex people and give them opportunities in sport. This is newer and it's earlier on and we're going to be in this together. And so we can keep having this conversation, but the women's category must be protected. and the NWSL needs to establish gender eligibility on biological sex to ensure fairness and continue the momentum we have going forward.

19:41Piers Morgan:A hundred percent. Blair? That's a really good point. And I think this insistence from trans rights activists and people on the left that trans women are women and they reduce it to this one sentence, this one slogan, rather than acknowledge the differences between them, that's what creates this ridiculous argument and has people going against what I know is true. And I know that the two leftists on the panel right now are very occupied with rights for trans people and for women. But I feel like there's been an erosion of the definition of the word right in recent years. I feel like people think that playing in a sport is a right.

20:17And this is not a right. At least in the United States, you have things like right to property, right to expression, freedom of speech, right to fairness under the law. Not the right to fairness from a sports league. And certainly not the Olympics at the elite level. So for me, this is the easiest thing to let go of, the idea that trans women must be in women's sports, especially if the tradeoff is just getting people to take that community ever so slightly more seriously. And it's really, really difficult to hear people still insisting that this has to be an ongoing argument when the argument's been done.

20:51You know, especially when you look at the election in the states in last year, almost a year ago now, we've really come to a consensus where it's like we're throwing away the things that we realize don't work. You know, we just made sure gay marriage is still a thing here in the states, but we're getting rid of trans women and women's sports because that's an excess. And it only stands to benefit these minorities that you guys are so fighting for to let go of these ridiculous ideas. Like, just let it go, please.