Mario Fired? 'Access Hollywood' Holds 'Emergency Meeting' After Lopez's Transphobic Comments
Aug. 1 2019, Published 9:10 p.m. ET
Disgraced TV show host Mario Lopez's transphobic comments may cost him his job, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal.
According to sources, the former Saved By The Bell star is facing possible termination from his upcoming gig as host on Access Hollywood!
"The execs at NBC held an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss Mario's future with the show because they do not see how they can just let this fly," a source said.
Lopez's controversial comments led the network to second guess their opinion of the longtime host. "Mario's comments are not an accurate representation of what the network stands for at all. The network prides itself on equality and do not accept anti LGBTQ hate speech at all."
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Lopez, 45, came under fire during an interview on the Candace Owens show, after he said it was "dangerous" for parents to label their children as transgender.
“If you come from a place of love, you know, you really can’t go wrong. But at the same time, my God, if you’re 3 years old, and you’re saying you’re feeling a certain way or you think you’re a boy or girl whatever the case may be I just think it’s dangerous as a parent to make this determination then,” he said.
But after the interview resurfaced on Twitter this week, Lopez walked back on his statements in an apology to Us Weekly.
"The comments I made were ignorant and insensitive, and I now have a deeper understanding of how hurtful they were," Lopez said. "I have been and always will be an ardent supporter of the LGBTQ community, and I am going to use this opportunity to better educate myself. Moving forward I will be more informed and thoughtful.”
According to the informant, however, Lopez's apology may have come a little too late!
"His apology really meant nothing at all," the insider told RadarOnline.com exclusively. "All it does is solidify that he was aware that his comments were transphobic and hurtful."
Meanwhile, sources reveal Lopez's PR team thinks they're going to "make an example out of him," and they're "probably right."
"He lost a lot of fans from this and there is no way that he could ever really recover them back."
Fans know Lopez has hosted WB's show Extra — which is a rival of Access Hollywood — since 1994.
After not appearing on the show last night, Extra released a statement that read: “While we have enjoyed a long relationship with Mario Lopez, who we know to be a caring person, the opinions he expressed in this interview do not reflect those of Extra. We wholeheartedly embrace our friends from the LGBTQ community and believe they need support and love. For more support on these issues you can go to GLAAD.org."
A source close to the situation insists Lopez is not on the chopping block at Access Hollywood and will begin production in the fall.