Recently, trans activist Janet Mock wrote an essay denouncing a recent episode of New York-based radio show The Breakfast Club during which comedian Lil Duval joked about the murder of trans women and misgendered Mock—who had appeared on a previous episode of the show. Two of the Breakfast Club’s hosts, Charlamagne Tha God and DJ Envy, laughed along with Duval’s transphobic comments at the time, but now Charlamagne has given a statement apologizing for the segment and denouncing violence against trans people.
This comes from Paper (via Vibe), and a lot of the statement revolves around Charlamagne’s realization of just how much danger trans women are in. Here’s the statement:
We don’t condone those kind of hate crimes at all. Not even a little bit. And one thing…another thing I learned this week is that fifteen transgender women have been murdered in 2017 and thirteen of them have been women of color, that number could be higher, but I do know the majority of them have been women of color…A transgender woman got killed this week in Atlanta, if I’m not mistaken, so, you know, her name was TeeTee Dangerfield actually, so rest in peace to her…The Breakfast Club will continue to do what it always does and that is provide a platform for the voiceless.