Breitbart's Ben Shapiro acted like a condescending jerk to transgender Zoey Tur, who responded in kind on CNN's HLN.
July 20, 2015

There are a number of reasons why Ben Shapiro, the once-proud virgin of Breitbart, is a twerp, but this exchange with Zoey Tur on HLN's Dr. Drew show explains it all. Social Conservatives have blown a gasket over the progress of gay marriage, especially after the Supreme Court ruling and they are venting whenever and wherever they can. Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz and their ilk are openly discussing ignoring the court's authority over this decision, while others are pining for a constitutional amendment against gay marriage.

Enter Caitlyn Jenner and the ESPN. They awarded Jenner with a courage award at the ESPYs, further infuriating social conservatives who view transgender people, among other derogatory things as mentally ill.

During Friday's discussion of whether Caitlyn Jenner deserve the ESPY for courage on Drew's show, Ben Shapiro was, as usual, speaking like a petulant child, incensed that transgenderism is even a valid topic and openly spit in Jenner and guest Zoey Tur's faces by referring to them as male and constantly called them "sir." Shapiro's remarks were targeted to get a rise out of Tor and he got was he was hoping for. Zoey Tur became infuriated with his rank twerpiness and disrespect, and told him to stop addressing her as sir or he'd go home in an ambulance. (For the record I'm against violent reactions during TV appearances.) Since many conservatives make their living off of conservative grievance and backlash politics, the very petty Shapiro is filing a police report against Zoey Tor for being mean to him on air.

Following the show’s taping, Shapiro alleged that Tur said, “I’ll see you in the parking lot,” and CNN security reportedly escorted the commentator to his vehicle.
More, according to Shapiro’s colleagues at Breitbart:

“Just because the left has designated someone a member of the victim class does not mean that that person gets to infringe the rights of others,” [Shapiro] said of his report. “Until the left learns that, their aggression will not stop.” Shapiro also said that he had spoken with a detective at LAPD, and that he would be pursuing any possibility of charges regarding alleged criminal threats.

Being the condescending twerp that he is, he used said twerp behavior to elicit the response he was looking for to his advantage and he did so by filing the police report. Why meanspirited jerks are constantly allowed to go on TV is a mystery to me, but click bait has become the norm for mainstream news outlets these days, and condescending assholes are reaping the benefits.

If a person was as disrespectful to an NRA member or almost any red-blooded American anywhere in this country, they'd receive the same treatment that Zoey gave Shapiro. And most likely a much more physical response might have come forth -- even if I don't approve, that's the nature of things. People like Shapiro hide behind the shield of television to bestow their cruelty on others and it's not always going to guarantee him a sanctuary.

Here's a recap of the original incident.

Asked by host Dr. Drew Pinsky whether Jenner deserved the ESPY award after “courageously coming forward, for having been an athlete of great prowess, and now fighting a new battle,” Shapiro spilled his disdain for the entire concept of transgenderism: “What exactly is the battle? I mean, self-definition is what you do, and my baby’s doing it at 18 months old. I was unaware that you get a medal for it.”

Later on, Tur, who was born Robert Tur, responded:

Did she deserve the honor? Probably not. Is she brave? Of course she’s brave. All those years invested as the sports legend, to come out transgender is horribly difficult. It is the most difficult thing you can do. I’ve been overseas, I’ve flown helicopter missions, surveillance missions, I’ve been shot, stabbed. Being brave is being yourself. And being transgender is about the bravest thing you can do.

And when Shapiro refused to call Jenner and Tur by anything but male pronouns, the segment went straight down the tubes.

“Forget about the disrespect,” Shapiro said, in the full clip first reported by Breitbart. “Facts don’t care about your feelings. It turns out that every chromosome, every cell in Caitlyn Jenner’s body, is male, with the exception of some of his sperm cells.”

“We both know chromosomes don’t necessarily mean you’re male or female,” Tur replied, and then put her hand on Shapiro’s shoulder. “So you don’t know what you’re talking about, you’re not educated on genetics.” That prompted Shapiro to ask: “What are your genetics, sir?”

And off we go. “You cut that out now, or you’ll go home in an ambulance,” Tur shot back while holding Shapiro by the back of his neck. The rest of the show’s guests then explained to Shapiro how he knew full-well his use of “sir” was meant to be inflammatory, but he was not moved. “It’s not a matter of aggressively insulting,” he said. “The entire discussion is whether we are embracing mental illness and delusion as a society.”

When the conversation resumed after a commercial break, the fire hadn’t subsided. Tur told Shapiro, “You’re consumed with hatred,” after the conservative commentator denied any ill will towards the transgender community. “You’re a little man,” she added. “Little boy.”

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon