People Call For A Boycott Of "The Breakfast Club" After A Guest Joked About Killing Trans Women

A week after Janet Mock's appearance on The Breakfast Club radio show, the hosts are coming under fire for their interview with comedian Lil Duval, who joked about killing trans women.

Janet Mock has published a response to the controversy following her recent appearance on the popular — and often contentious — Power 105.1 morning talk show, The Breakfast Club.

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One week after Mock's appearance on the program, hosted by Angela Yee, DJ Envy, and Charlamagne Tha God, comedian Lil Duval came on the show and made several comments about Mock and trans women, saying that if he found out a woman he had slept with was transgender, he would have to kill her. The interview was published in full on The Breakfast Club's YouTube page on July 28.

After discussing Trump's proposed ban on trans service members in the military, DJ Envy posed a hypothetical question to the comedian about dating and sleeping with a woman who later discloses that she’s transgender. “This might sound messed up and I don’t care,” Duval responded. “She dying. I can’t deal with that.”

Charlamagne jumped in to point out that killing a trans woman would be considered a hate crime. "You can't do that," he said.

Duval inferred that there should be "repercussions" for a trans woman who sleeps with a man without disclosing her gender identity. "You should go to jail or something," Charlamagne agreed, mentioning the show's previous interview with Janet Mock, during which they discussed the topic of disclosure. "But you can't go around killing transgenders," he said.

“If one did that to me, and they didn’t tell me, I’mma be so mad I’d probably going to want to kill them," Duval responded.

Some of the hosts laughed in response to Duval's comments. DJ Envy placed Janet Mock's book, which has a large photo of the author on the cover, on the table in front of Duval. Both Charlamagne and Yee tried to convince Duval that Mock is pretty. "Nope," he said, referring to Mock with male pronouns, drawing more laughs from the hosts.

T$BIGGIESMALLS @fatfemme

@breakfastclubam i truly wonder if these fools really believe what they say b/c this performance of ignorance here… https://t.co/jagOiCxboz

06:39 PM - 29 Jul 2017

In her response, "Dear Men of 'The Breakfast Club': Trans Women Aren’t a Prop, Ploy, or Sexual Predators," published on Allure Monday morning, Mock wrote that her goal when she appeared on the show was to "exercise patience" and educate its audience on the "lived realities" of trans women.

I was hopeful that I could use the show’s vast platform to speak directly to their predominantly black and Latinx listeners, who are often excluded from the conversations held in mainstream LGBT spaces (which are largely white, moneyed, and concerned with the centering of cis folk). I hoped I could make listeners aware of the lived realities of their trans sisters, and let them know that we deserve to be seen, heard, and acknowledged without the threat of harassment, exclusion, and violence.

My ultimate goal was to be accessible — to not judge, to call in rather than call out, and, above all, to exercise patience as the (straight cis male) hosts processed my existence.

Mock called out the show's hosts for laughing at Duval's comments and using her book "as a literal prop for laughs, vitriol, and a deeper call and justification for violence," only one week after speaking with her.

Twitter: @janetmock

She wrote, "Just so we are all clear: On a black program that often advocates for the safety and lives of black people, its hosts laughed as their guest advocated for the murder of black trans women who are black people, too!"

For Duval, she had several choice words. "This was not the first time that I’ve been misgendered, dismissed, told that I am an abomination, that I need medical help and God, et cetera, et cetera. Boo boo: You are not original," she wrote. "Everything you’ve spewed has been said to me and my sisters before — hundreds of times. But there are deeper consequences to this casual ignorance."

Mock also noted that during her appearance she engaged in a lot of "Trans 101" discussion, something she often resists engaging with. "In fact, I’ve turned down thousands from colleges and corporations because I refuse to engage in Trans 101," she wrote. "Trans folk, especially of color, should not be obligated to help cis folk play catch-up on our experiences."

Instagram: @breakfastclubam

"Though I have not been able to watch the video of my interview (I have already experienced it and won’t be doing so again), I’m proud of the labor I put forth, and I’m grateful to Yee for her preparation and effort to steer the conversation away from the particulars of my body and instead toward my work," Mock added.

She concluded by stating she would be "just fine" after watching and listening to Lil Duval's comments. "I have a job, a home, a supportive husband, and a family. I feel protected and cared for. I’m OK."

In the days before Mock published her response, the video of Duval's interview quickly had already gone viral and spurred a response from the trans community. "I just got teary thinking about all my sisters experiencing violence, beaten, raped, murdered and some folks think it's OK to joke about wanting to kill us," actor and activist Laverne Cox tweeted on Sunday.

Twitter: @Lavernecox

Twitter: @Lavernecox

She added that the comments were even more upsetting considering Mock had been on the show giving "trans 101 education" to the show's audience.

Twitter: @Lavernecox

Twitter: @Lavernecox

"I think the issue is when this kind of violence is expressed publicly and goes unchallenged. This is why I am speaking up to challenge it," she added.

@laverneCox

Over the weekend many tweeted their reactions along with the hashtag #BreakfastClubBoycott.

Twitter: @LeslieMac

Twitter: @hashtag

Twitter: @MEGASheenpod

Charlamagne was interrupted during a live interview at Politcon on Sunday by a group of protesters.

Anthony @hollywoodblvd1

#Transgender community @Politicon telling @cthagod "We Are Not A Joke" over comments made @breakfastclubam… https://t.co/vPFZW74Hzy

08:45 PM - 30 Jul 2017

"We are not a joke," the protesters chanted.

Blossom C. Brown @MISSBLOSSOM9210

@cthagod you tried it! BUT BLACK TRANSWOMEN DENIED IT! #blacktranslivesmatter #teamjanetmock

09:46 PM - 30 Jul 2017

The internet backlash continued into the week. On Monday, activist Raquel Willis tweeted a video on Monday using #TransFolksAreNotJokes, which soon became another trending hashtag calling for a boycott of the radio show.

Raquel Willis @RaquelWillis_

It's time for everyone to show up and say #TransFolksAreNotJokes. No one can afford to be silent.

Mon Jul 31 03:45:59 UTC+0000 2017

"There have been at least 15 reported transgender deaths in our community this year. It is beyond time for everyone, whether you are transgender are not, to show up and say, 'Trans folks are not jokes, and we deserve respect and the ability to live our lives,' to their full potential," Willis said in the video.

Twitter: @hashtag

However, many people are also using the hashtag to defend the comedian's comments.

Twitter: @hashtag

On Monday, the radio host appeared to respond to the controversy via Twitter.

@cthegod

Cohost Angela Yee also offered a vague response on Twitter with one emoji. The Breakfast Club has not yet released a formal statement on the incident.

@angelayee

Lil Duval responded via Twitter as well, making it clear that he doesn't have plans to apologize.

Twitter: @lilduval

Twitter: @lilduval

You can read Mock's response in its entirety here.

BuzzFeed News has reached out to the hosts of The Breakfast Club and Lil Duval for comment.