Lynda Carter wants the “war on women” to stop, and that includes trans women.

The star of  the “Wonder Woman” TV series in the 1970s tweeted out her support for the transgender community on Tuesday, and the post has since generated nearly 200,000 likes and 36,000 retweets.

“It just seems like such an unnecessary fight to pick,’’ Carter, 70, said in an interview with Bloomberg  News. “There’s a war on women right now, there’s a war against voting rights for minorities. There’s a bigger picture here. They deserve their own choices as everyone wants their freedom.” 

Her comments come amid recent backlash toward celebrities Bette Midler, J.K. Rowling and Macy Gray after comments by them that some view as transphobic.

Carter has been a longtime supporter of LGBTQ rights, finding it difficult to see others being bullied. She recalled in the early years of her career, her makeup artist was a gay man who was not comfortable coming out. As Carter learned more about the community, she felt frustrated there was so much secrecy and bigotry when it was “just only a part of a person.”

“I don't know a huge portion of what all those people feel like and for any one of us to pass judgment on what that is, I think it's just insane,” Carter said.

Wonder Woman has remained a feminist icon for generations with many people embracing the superhero character’s strength. When she played the role, Carter wanted fans to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

“I react very strongly to seeing anyone being abused, so I think that what I endowed in Wonder Woman was a piece of myself in that regard,” she said.

Over the last couple of days stars Midler and Gray saw their comments erupt on social media. “The First Wives Club” actress was hit with a backlash after saying in a Twitter post Monday that:  “They don’t call us ‘women’ anymore; they call us ‘birthing people’ or ‘menstruators,’ and even ‘people with vaginas!’ Don’t let them erase you!”

She later responded that “there was no intention of anything exclusionary or transphobic in what I said;  it wasn’t about that.”

Gray, an R&B singer whose hits include “I Try,” said in an interview on the British TV show “Piers Morgan Uncensored’’ that “just because you go change your parts, doesn’t make you a woman.” Gray later put out a statement saying her comments had been misunderstood.  “I have nothing but love for the LGBTQ+ and transgender community and have been a supporter since day one,” she said in a statement provided to Billboard.

The Human Rights Campaign, a Washington-based advocacy group for the LGBTQ community, estimates that there are more than 2 million people in the US identifying as transgender.  In 2021, the group tracked a record 50 fatal attacks against transgender people.

Source:
courtesy of BLOOMBERG

by Taylor Johnson

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