Batgirl, Racism, and Transphobia

In the days following the cancellation of Batgirl, it became more than apparent that racism and transphobia played a role. Prior to logging offline for Shabbos, I started seeing social media leaking the film’s plot and test screening reviews. As a transgender woman let alone film/TV critic, I couldn’t be more surprised by what I saw. The fact of the matter is I don’t like that my gut instinct was right: racism and transphobia were…

"Batgirl, Racism, and Transphobia"

The Orville: New Horizons Has A Moving Trans Storyline

After the initial backlash to The Orville, Seth MacFarlane responds with its strongest trans episodes yet in The Orville: New Horizons. There are two episodes in particular that follow Topa, a Moclan born female but being raised as male. The first episode is the third season’s fifth episode, “A Tale of Two Topas.” The second episode in this storyline is the season’s eighth episode, “Midnight Blue.” While two episodes remain in the third season, there’s…

"The Orville: New Horizons Has A Moving Trans Storyline"

Ted Sarandos Wants Comedians to “Cross the Line”

Ted Sarandos continues to make it harder for Netflix’s LGBTQ employees customers by continuing to justify hate speech as comedy. The Netflix executive never seems to miss an opportunity to defend the likes of Dave Chappelle or Ricky Gervais. This time, his comments come during a “Future of Entertainment” panel at the Cannes Lion advertising conference. “Part of the art form is to cross the line, and part of the art form means you only…

"Ted Sarandos Wants Comedians to “Cross the Line”"

Ted Sarandos Defends Transphobic Hate Speech

Once again, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has dug himself into a deeper hole by tripling down in his defense of transphobic hate speech. Or maybe it is quadrupling down. To be honest, I’ve lost count. This doesn’t even begin to include my own encounter with the Netflix executive back in March. You can bet that words were exchanged between the two of us. I made my feelings known as an open and visible transgender woman.…

"Ted Sarandos Defends Transphobic Hate Speech"

Ricky Gervais Is Transphobic in New Netflix Special

To the surprise of absolutely no one, stand-up comedian Ricky Gervais is at it again by getting transphobic in his new Netflix special. The new Gervais special, SuperNature, just launched on the streaming service. Perhaps what is surprising is how we rarely heard a word of Gervais getting transphobic during comedy shows. These specials aren’t just taped for Netflix but they come after fine-tuning the show during the comedy tour. There are no shortage of…

"Ricky Gervais Is Transphobic in New Netflix Special"

Bill Maher Gets Transphobic On Real Time Again

It would not be an episode of Real Time with Bill Maher unless the comedian got openly transphobic at some point during the broadcast. While I came back online to the news about John Mulaney, I didn’t see anything in the entertainment trades about Bill Maher. I probably didn’t scroll back far enough. Oh, well. This doesn’t change the fact that Warner Bros. Discovery doesn’t just have a J.K. Rowling problem. They have a Bill…

"Bill Maher Gets Transphobic On Real Time Again"

John Mulaney Has Dave Chappelle Open For Him

John Mulaney screwed the Disney+ opening weekend of Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers by having transphobic comedian Dave Chappelle open for him. Not only did Mulaney screw over his castmates but he screwed his fans in attendance by allowing the transphobic comedian to perform. This happened during Mulaney’s From Scratch tour at Ohio State University’s Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. If you’ve already read the reports, fans had to seal up their phones before…

"John Mulaney Has Dave Chappelle Open For Him"

Fantastic Beasts: J.K. Rowling Amplifies Transphobia

Once again, J.K. Rowling manages to shoot herself in the foot by amplifying transphobia ahead of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. You would think that Warner Bros. would follow Focus Features and keep Rowling on a short leash. After all, that’s what Focus did with filmmaker Paul Schrader ahead of The Card Counter‘s release last year. It didn’t stop the filmmaker from using racial slurs in interviews but the studio tried. Whereas with Rowling,…

"Fantastic Beasts: J.K. Rowling Amplifies Transphobia"

Jim Carrey: Ace Ventura Star Thinking Of Retirement

As Jim Carrey makes his way through the Sonic 2 press tour, the actor announced that he is seriously considering a retirement from acting. Retirement from acting is one of those things that has to come at some point in an actor’s career. Unlike Bruce Willis, Carrey has the opportunity to retire at a time of his own choosing. But still, I cannot get over the fact that it took him until 2019 to make…

"Jim Carrey: Ace Ventura Star Thinking Of Retirement"

Transgender Day of Visibility – TDOV 2022

Today is the Transgender Day of Visibility, or TDOV for short, in 2022 and the state of things in America could not be any worse. I am an Orthodox Jewish transgender woman and frequently use these pages to write about film and television. Sometimes, my words are on other outlets like Below the Line or elsewhere. But right now, I cannot stay silent even though I would prefer nothing more than to just discuss film…

"Transgender Day of Visibility – TDOV 2022"