Mario Lopez Skips Work at ‘Extra’ After Controversial Comments About Transgender Children

Following his controversial comments last month about raising transgender children, Mario Lopez missed the Thursday, Aug. 2 taping of Extra. In Lopez’s absence, according to Deadline, Extra hosts Renee Bargh and Tanika Ray addressed the controversy, interviewing GLAAD director Anthony Ramos and Dr. Johanna Olson Kennedy, an expert on trans youth development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

“I think the question about when do you know your gender, what age are you when you know your gender is a very important one because we understand that people know their gender at the age of three or four years old,” Dr. Olson-Kennedy said. “This is a big boy of research that was undertaken in the 1970s.”

No explanation was given for Lopez’s absence, though producers for Extra issued a statement about the incident, making it clear that they do not support Lopez’s views.

“While we have enjoyed a long relationship with Mario Lopez, who we know to be a caring person, the opinions he expressed in this interview do not reflect those of Extra,” the statement reads. “We wholeheartedly embrace our friends from the LGBTQ community and believe they need support and love. For more support on these issues you can go to GLAAD.org.”

Lopez found himself in hot water following his appearance on The Candace Owens Show in June, during which hot Candace Owens asked him about parents who allow their children to pick their gender.

“Look, I’m never one to tell anyone how to parent their kids, obviously, and I think if you come from a place of love, you really can’t go wrong,” he said. “But at the same time, my God, if you’re 3 years old and you’re saying you’re feeling a certain way, or you think you’re a boy or a girl or whatever the case may be, I just think it’s dangerous as a parent to make that determination then — ‘Okay, well then you’re going to be a boy or a girl,’ whatever the case may be. It’s sort of alarming and my gosh, I just think about the repercussions later on.”

The Access Hollywood host, who faced fierce backlash from fans and celebrities alike, has since walked back his comments. On Thursday, he issued a statement calling his words “ignorant and insensitive” and stating that he now has “a deeper understanding of how hurtful they were.” He added that he was going to use the incident to “better educate myself” and promised that “moving forward I will be more informed and thoughtful.”