A transgender actress seemingly setting out to shame two airline employees for misgendering ended up getting the bulk of the backlash.
The viral incident happened just before Christmas at a New York City airport when actor Tommy Dorfman was apparently trying to board a Delta Airlines flight.
On Tuesday’s show, Megyn was joined by Ben Shapiro, host of The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro Show, to discuss why the situation was handled “so effectively” and what the obsession with sexual identity really means.
[Editor’s Note: You can learn more about Megyn’s position on preferred pronouns here.]
‘Human Rights Violation’
Dorfman, who was born male, came out as a trans woman who uses she/her pronouns in 2021. In a short clip posted to TikTok on Christmas Eve, the 31 year old claimed two Delta employees at New York’s LaGuardia Airport committed a “human rights violation” after “intentionally” misgendering him.
The airline employee, reportedly named Tristan, was apparently speaking to another passenger at the gate of an Atlanta-bound flight when Dorfman started recording. “And what about when a Delta employee misgenders you intentionally?” the actor said while standing by the counter.
The worker can be heard saying, “While she’s talking – while he’s talking…” before being cut off. “You just misgendered me again,” Dorfman replied. “It wasn’t intentional, but if you want to take it personal, that’s also okay,” the gate agent added.
After Dorfman claimed one of Tristan’s colleagues had intentionally misgendered him on two occasions, the agent shut down the conversation. “You’re being condescending and if you want to continue, I’ll have Port Authority escort you out the building right this moment if you want to play that game with me,” he said. “Would you like to continue three days before Christmas? I really don’t mind.”
At that point, Dorfman promptly stopped filming. In the TikTok caption, the actor wrote he did not “realize it was condescending to flag a human rights violation after another employee misgendered me incessantly.”
It’s unclear what led to the confrontation, but Dorfman has since deleted the post. While he said the male agent “was fine with” the footage being shared online, Dorfman did not publicly name the female employee who also allegedly misgendered him.
An ‘Effective’ Response
Prior to being taken down, Dorfman’s post made the rounds on social media and many users commended the Delta employee for refusing to take the bait. Megyn, for one, was also impressed. “So effective. Is that not the way to deal with it,” she asked. “What’s happened since Tommy posted the clip is he had to take it down because ‘team sanity’ has taken the side of the Delta guy.”
Shapiro agreed. “This sort of stuff is insane,” he noted. “The entire push of the trans movement is that it’s somehow not an imposition upon the rest of us to be told what we have to say to certain people, and that is totally wild.”
Ultimately, Megyn said “it’s a no” for her. “Pronouns are Rohypnol – they need you to go with their preferred pronouns or accuse you of misgendering them because it’s all part of the delusion,” she concluded. “You have to participate in their delusion. The first step is disillusioning you that gender is real, that sex is real… It’s a very slippery slope.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Shapiro by tuning in to episode 693 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.