After being glitterbombed for the second time in a month, sex columnist and gay rights advocate Dan Savage has fired back against reports alleging he used transphobic language while speaking prior to the stunt.
Following accusations that he provoked the attack by using the terms "shemale" and "freaky tranny porn" while appearing at the University of California Irvine during a taping of his MTV series "Savage U.," Savage took to his blog in response. "I did say "shemale," Savage wrote, noting that the word had been included on an anonymous Q&A card submitted by an audience member. "I read the question as-written, repeated the term in my response, and then used 'transexual' in place of 'shemale'modeling the use of less offensive terms, before circling back to 'shemale' in order to unpack why some find it offensive. I never used the phrase 'freaky tranny porn.'"
Savage went on to note: "I never said the word 'tranny' at UCI at all; indeed, I've made a conscious effort to stop using 'tranny' after the memo went out last year declaring the word an off-limits 'hate term.'"
As for use of the term "freaky boy," Savage insisted it wasn't meant in a derogatory fashion. "...Anyone who reads my column knows that I'm pro-freak, pro-kink, pro-porn, pro-just-about-everything," he said. "I'm a freak myself, as I've said numerous times, I married a freak, some of my best friends are freaks." He concluded, "If I'm the enemy of trans people everywhere, trans people everywhere could use more enemies like me."
The original Bilerico report notes that two individuals threw glitter on Savage, yelling "Transphobe!" Savage was said to have laughed off the stunt, adding, "I'm used to it." OC Weekly reports that one of the two individuals, who may or may not have been students, has been arrested in connection with the incident.
The UC Irvine incident comes just weeks after Savage was glitterbombed during a previous taping at the University of Oregon. He has faced numerous allegations of both being transphobic and biased against bisexuals in the past, after his earlier use of the terms "shemale" and "tranny" in several of his "Savage Love" columns.