The Violent Implications of Transphobic Comments on 'The Breakfast Club'

The Breakfast Club, a hit morning program that airs on New York hip-hop station Power 105.1 FM, is under fire for transphobic comments made on the show.

Last week, the comedian Lil Duval, who regularly appears on MTV2, said that if he found out he'd been intimate with a transgender woman, he'd kill her. The segment has sparked a huge amount of push back, with calls to boycott the show. Meanwhile, Lil Duval has refused to apologize. 

Jamal Lewis, a filmmaker, writer and activist, says "comedy" like this has deep, material and immaterial consequences.

"By material, I would name the physical consequence of violence and death," says Lewis. "By immaterial, I would name it psychological terror."

Lewis told WNYC that the issue was not only Lil Duval's comments, but also the laughter and "willful ignorance" of hosts Charlamagne tha God and DJ Envy. "There are so many people who listen to the show, or maybe don't listen to the show but saw these excerpts on Twitter, right? And [the hosts' reactions] reaffirmed that nothing this person said is wrong."

Lewis spoke with WNYC's Richard Hake.