GLAAD, Celebrity Activists And Other Groups Call Out New York Times Coverage Of Transgender Community; Judd Apatow, Lena Dunham Among Those Protesting “Irresponsible, Biased” Stories
A coalition of LGBTQ groups, celebrity activists, journalists and New York Times contributors are protesting what they call the media outlet’s “irresponsible, biased” coverage of the transgender community.
Judd Apatow, Ashlee Marie Preston, Gabrielle Union-Wade, Jameela Jamil, Jonathan Van Ness, Lena Dunham, Margaret Cho, Peppermint, Shakina, Tommy Dorfman and Wilson Cruz are among those who signed on to a letter, which is calling on the Times to stop platforming anti-trans activists and presenting them as “average Americans without an agenda.” They also are calling on the Times to hold a meeting with transgender community members and leaders and invest in hiring of transgender writers and editors, among other things.
Read the open letter here. GLAAD, HRC, PFLAG, the Transgender Law Center, Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund and the Women’s March are among the groups signing on to the letter. “The New York Times has long been the standard for excellence in journalism: A media outlet that New Yorkers, Americans, and people around the world looked to for ethical, thorough reporting, and thoughtful opinion pieces.” the letter read. “But for more than a year, the New York Times has stood for something else: irresponsible, biased coverage of transgender people.
The Times has repeatedly platformed cisgender (non-transgender) people spreading inaccurate and harmful misinformation about transgender people and issues.” They blasted what they called “misguided, inaccurate, and disingenuous ‘both sides’ fearmongering and bad faith ‘just asking questions’ coverage.” Another group of more than 100 New York Times’ contributors sent their own letter to the Times, writing, that the Times has “treated gender diversity with an
