Radio host fired for saying being transgender is like pretending to be a dog
Wheeler has been fired, “effective immediately” (dave wheeler/facebook)
A Canadian radio presenter has been fired after saying that transgender people don’t exist.
Dave Wheeler, who hosted 92.1 CITI FM’s Wheeler in the Morning in Winnipeg, Manitoba, wrote on Facebook Messenger that calling yourself trans was like pretending to be a dog.
He made the comments after a segment on his show about Scarlett Johansson’s initial decision to accept a role as a trans man in Rub & Tug saw him compare trans people to actors who “pretend to be different things.”
Wheeler made the initial comments on Monday (dave wheeler/facebook)
A woman reached out to Wheeler on Facebook following these remarks on Monday (July 16), which he clarified during the conversation.
The radio host wrote to her saying: “If someone is born a human. And they pretend to be a dog. It is not right To agree with them for the sake of their feelings.
“There is no ‘trans,’ Wheeler told her.
Wheeler said: “You’re either a male, or a female” (dave wheeler/facebook)
“You’re either a male, or a female. If you decide to change from one to the other, that’s fine. I have no issue. But once you leave that gender behind, you are no longer trans.
“Until the surgery is complete, you are still a male… or a female. The only transition that happens is on the table. Until that happens, it’s pretending to be something your not,” he continued.
Just in case any Winnipeggers are still unaware of what a piece of shit Dave Wheeler (92 Citi fm) is. Here is a demonstration of his ignorance and stupidity. He's an asshole. #LGBTQ #92CitiFM pic.twitter.com/cDILATCOI9
— Maie Lynn PhD (@maie_lynn) July 17, 2018
“I’m not allowed to be a 6’4” Asian person. If I claimed to be, no one would agree with me. So why is it ok for someone to play pretend and we add to the disillusion?
“There is male, and female. People can make the switch… but there is no ‘trans’. It’s a made up word to defend people’s dysphoria and make it acceptable?” added Wheeler.
Rogers Media, which runs the station, announced this morning (July 18) that Wheeler had been fired.
Spokesperson Andrea Goldstein said: “There have been multiple disciplinary incidents, and in spite of numerous conversations, he has continued to offend our audiences.
Rogers Media, which runs the station, announced this morning that Wheeler had been fired (dave wheeler/facebook)
“As a result, we have ended our relationship with him and he is no longer with the company, effective immediately,” she added, according to CBC.
The director of Rub & Tug suggested earlier this week that the film could be scrapped altogether after Scarlett Johansson quit the project.
Scarlett Johansson revealed on Friday that she would no longer be playing a transgender man in an upcoming film (VALERIE MACON/Getty)
Johansson dropped out of the film on July 13 after widespread anger at reports she would play real-life trans man Dante ‘Tex’ Gill on screen.
The Avengers star was initially defensive of the film, telling people upset by the decision to take it up with Jeffrey Tambor and Jared Leto – both of whom also controversially played trans people on screen.
However, in the face of a sustained backlash, Johansson opted to walk away from the project.
