Piers Morgan pressed Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of California on protecting women’s rights in sports Friday, citing an incident where Riley Gaines was reportedly assaulted.
“We saw this week, Riley Gaines, the swimmer, being attacked, literally physically attacked, for standing up for women’s rights,” Morgan said on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.” (RELATED: ‘Forced To Race Against A Male’: Female Swimmer Rips Into NCAA Over Lia Thomas)
Gaines, who competed against Lia Thomas as a member of the University of Kentucky’s swim team during the 2022 NCAA Championships, has been a vocal critic of allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports. She was assaulted during an April 6 event at San Francisco State University hosted by Turning Point USA after speaking on the issue of women’s sports.
#StartTheClock: Tonight’s episode of #RealTime with @BillMaher feat. @ben_mckenzie, @katieporteroc and @piersmorgan is now on @HBO and @HBOMax!
Watch the conversation continue after the show on #RTOvertime at 11:30pm ET on @CNN! pic.twitter.com/cTsGrrYVAS
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“Every time a woman stands up for women’s rights, at the moment, whether it’s J.K. Rowling, or Riley Gaines, or whoever it may be, they get shamed, they get vilified, they get hounded, they get death threats, it’s completely disgusting,” Morgan said, referencing attacks on the author of the Harry Potter books.
The president of San Francisco State University issued a statement calling Gaines’s appearance at the event “deeply traumatic for many in our trans and LGBTQ+ communities” while praising the protesters.
“I think the issue that this all gets tangled up in, that it’s really important to put on the table, is that while the right is waging these kinds of cultural attacks, cultural wars, trans people are being murdered,” Porter said. “Trans people deserve the right to have jobs, to have housing, to get health care, to walks the streets freely, and they are being attacked.”
Porter went on to claim that Gaines was trying to “get likes and get clicks” by speaking out on the issue of women’s sports.
“All I’ve seen her do is stand up for women’s rights and fairness and equality,” Morgan responded. “She actually competed against Lia Thomas and it was obviously unfair.”
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