Levanja

Esther corners Francesca Fiorentini over women’s sports and bathroom safety — then comedian James Barr launches a personal attack that sends the debate into chaos! But Esther refuses to back down, challenging him for lecturing women about their own safety. Participant: If I hit you over the head with a bat and said I wasn’t trying to kill you, just remove a fly, would my intention excuse the assault? Does my intention matter? Participant: That’s the issue. People are validating what I consider nonsense at the expense of women trying to compete fairly or use a bathroom. Another participant: You think that’s what trans people are doing? Participant: Don’t impose your views on the rest of us and then call us regressive. Narrator: Esther isn’t finished. She challenges Francesca Fiorentini over women who don’t want to share bathrooms with biological men. Piers Morgan: Francesca, you respond, and then I’ll come to James. Francesca Fiorentini: I care about human life, people’s right to privacy, and people being able to survive and live in this world. Esther: What about the privacy of women who don’t want to share their spaces with biological men? Do they not matter? Francesca Fiorentini: What about the number of trans youth who die by suicide every year— Esther: No, answer the question. What about women who don’t want to share a bathroom with a biological man? Francesca Fiorentini: You can go into every bathroom and pick a fight with anyone you think is in the wrong bathroom. That’s your prerogative. Esther: If a man goes into a bathroom with my teenage daughter, what should I do? Francesca Fiorentini: Guys, let’s not bully, okay? I believe Melania Trump said, “Be Best,” and we know what bullying leads to: Stephen Miller. Piers Morgan: We’re conflating two issues. You can support trans people’s rights to fairness and equality while recognizing the serious debate about fairness in women’s sports. There’s a reason we separate the sexes in the Olympics and world championships. Otherwise, women would struggle to win against competitors with certain physical advantages. That doesn’t mean women aren’t great athletes. Narrator: Then comedian James Barr turns his attention to Esther, and the argument gets personal. James Barr: Esther, you’re the only person making anyone angry right now. You’re causing me a mental health issue. If there’s a mental illness here, it’s you. I’d like to take a pill to remove you from my life. Narrator: Barr then argues that the race results are normal for women, but Esther refuses to let the discussion move away from women’s safety. James Barr: Most female winners in this sport run around 22 to 24 seconds, which is exactly the time the gold medalist recorded here. That’s normal for a woman in a race. Esther: How dare you, as a man, tell women how they should feel about safety in a bathroom with biological men? You’ve never experienced being a woman in a women’s toilet, so don’t lecture me about it. James Barr: One in three women in America experience violent abuse in their lifetime. Why are we focusing on one trans woman in a changing room? Esther: I’m talking about women being affected by what I believe is scientific nonsense. Why can you talk about biological men, but I’m not allowed to talk about women? Participant: We’re conflating different issues. Let’s get back to the actual issue we came here to debate