Janet Mock Responds To Lil Duval’s Transphobic Comments On The Breakfast Club

Author and activist Janet Mock has responded to transphobic comments made by comedian Lil Duval on The Breakfast Club. During his appearance on the radio show on Friday, Lil Duval told the hosts of the Power 105.1 show that he would kill a sexual partner if he found out that she was a transgender woman.

Mock had been a guest on the show to promote her book, Surpassing Uncertainty, on July 25, and in response to Duval's comments, the hosts held up a copy of Mock's book and asked him what he thought about Mock. In response to her image, he misgendered her and the entire room laughed.

"The hosts laugh after using my image as a literal prop — just days after I was a guest on the same show — for laughs, vitriol, and a deeper call and justification for violence," Mock wrote in a response in Allure. "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!"

Duval's first comments comments came at around the six-minute mark in his interview with Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee, and DJ Envy. When Charlamagne asked Duval what he thought about Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military, he responded, "I’m just doing my thing. Shout out to all the trannies out there.”

DJ Envy then asked Duval what he would do if he found a woman that he had sex with transgender. "This might sound messed up, but I don’t care, she dying,” he replied.

“That’s a hate crime,” Charlamagne told him. “You can’t do that.”

“I can’t deal with that," Duval continued. "You manipulated me to believe in this thing. My mind, I’m gay now.”

The segment immediately sparked protest online and in real life. Activists launched hashtags in response to the comments, including #BoycottBreakfastClub, #TransLivesMatter, and #TransFolksAreNotJokes.

“Some folks think it’s ok to joke about wanting to kill us,” Laverne Cox wrote on Twitter. “We have free speech but that speech has consequences and trans folks are experiencing the negative consequences with our lives. It hurts my spirit cause this isn’t funny. Our lives matter. Trans murder isn’t a joke.”

According to TMZ, trans organizers and advocates showed up to Charlamagne's speaking engagement at Politicon in Pasadena, California on Sunday, shouting, "We are not a joke! Trans people are not a joke!"

Representatives for The Breakfast Club were not immediately available for comment.