OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The panel on Fox News’s “The Five” erupted into chaos after co-host Jessica Tarlov suggested that it is respectful to use correct pronouns when discussing transgender individuals.
The panel initially began discussing transgender swimmer Lia Thomas and her former competitor Riley Gaines, who has been in the news for speaking out against biological male athletes participating in women’s sports.
Tarlov claimed there is a “tremendous spike in attacks and violent crime targeted at transgender people because that’s something that’s going on all across the country.”
“It is important to treat people with dignity and respect when you are using or when you are talking about these issues. And part of that is using the correct pronouns,” Tarlov insisted.
“No,” co-host Katie Pavlich responded, which was echoed by another panelist, Joey Jones.
“Yes, it is. It doesn’t hurt you at all to call Lia Thomas–” Tarlov said before she was cut off by co-host Greg Gutfeld, who said Tarlov does not have the right to tell them how to address others.
“It makes me a liar,” Jones insisted.
“Don’t compel my language. Do not–you have no right to compel me to say anything. That’s the beauty of this world,” Gutfeld added.
The discussion continued, with the other panelists backing Tarlov’s right to speak her mind and have her own opinion, but that didn’t mean others should be forced to comply.
“On the feminism issue though, women in general and feminists… are all supportive of trans people and trans rights. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we are immune to understanding the competitive aspect of what this is on the college level, the high school level, and beyond…” Tarlov claimed.
As Jones attempted to go to a commercial break, Gutfeld broke in again.
“There’s a trend in Jessica’s defense when she talked about the homeless and trans, that when you make a criticism, you then connect it to attacks against these groups. We should be able to criticize anything and not be blamed for a rise and attacks against trans. Trans are maybe a tenth of a percent of the population. You have to work really hard to go seek one out,” Gutfeld said.
Pushing back, Tarlov said, “To that point then, whenever we talk about gun violence and people point out that more white people are killed by cops than Black people are. That’s an important part of the conversation that you would bring up.”
WATCH:
'The Five' lose their shit when liberal host Jessica Tarlov says it doesn't hurt them to refer to Lia Thomas as she/her.
"No!"
"It makes me a liar!"
"You have NO RIGHT to compel me to say ANYTHING!" pic.twitter.com/PkG83K3o8k
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) April 27, 2023
Meanwhile, Gutfeld has had a great week as the network deals with the fallout from taking top-rated host Tucker Carlson off the air. In fact, it has been a historic week for Gutfeld, as he continues to be the most dominant force in cable news as a co-host of both “The Five” and also his late-night show “Gutfeld!”
The popular host also just announced a new book, titled, “The King of Late Night,” which will be released July 25, and details how Gutfeld “destroyed the mainstream late-night landscape of heavyweights and became the host of the #1 late night show in all of television.”
On Wednesday night, “The Five” was the most-watched show on all of cable news with a whopping 2.62 million total views. In the same 5 PM ET timeslot, CNN’s “Situation Room” brought in a dismal 698,000 total viewers, and Newsmax’s “Frontline” had 282,000.
A separate report also notes how Gutfeld’s late-night show has brought in historic viewership for Fox News.
“The show replaced news program Fox News @ Night in April 2021, and has made double-digit gains on Fox since, with a 44 percent boost in total viewers and a 25 percent gain in the key 25-54 age demographic. Since its debut, Gutfeld! has averaged 1.9 million total viewers and 332,000 in the key demo. That audience has only grown from the debut: its first episode brought in about 1.7 million viewers total and 318,000 demo viewers — a strong showing that topped all of cable news at 11 p.m.,” Mediaite reported.
As of now, Gutfeld appears to be the undisputed top host at Fox News in terms of viewership.
“The Five” remains one of the most popular shows in all of cable news and his late-night comedy show “Gutfeld!” has been racking up historic numbers.
