The Green Party leader clashed with Piers Morgan
BY KATIE TRAHAIR-DAVIES, BY BRISTOL GREEN PARTY, FLICKR
Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party, has been praised for his response to Piers Morgan’s questions on trans issues.
On 9 October, Polanski featured on Morgan’s YouTube chat show Piers Morgan Uncensored. During their conversation, the pair fell into a discussion surrounding trans people, with Morgan asking Polanski, “Can a woman have a penis?”
Polanski promptly responded with a direct “Yes”, going on to quip that “It’s going to take them a long time on the National Health Service to get rid of it, but that’s another problem. I think we’ll leave it on a woman can have a penis.”
As Morgan continued to restate the question, Polanski replied: “I think you’re lacking nuance and complexity about a pretty complicated conversation.”
To Morgan’s rebuttal that “I am asking a simple question”, Polanski retorted: “But you’re laughing at it, which I think demeans trans people.”
“What have you got against trans people? It sounds like you have a huge problem with trans people.”
Morgan appeared to continually bring the conversation back to this question, saying: “You are a fast-emerging politician in this county, I am absolutely entitled to ask you what you believe. People are worried about women’s rights.”
To this, the Green Party leader said: “I’m worried about women’s rights too, but I’ve offered several times to talk about the police force, the inequality pay gap […] Let’s have a conversation about women’s rights, but let’s not talk about trans women specifically.”
He went on to describe Morgan’s questions on the topic as “ludicrous”.
Polanski has publicly declared his support for the LGBTIQA+ community on numerous occasions. During his campaign for Green Party leadership, he stated: “We must push within parliament – and as a party more broadly in society – to establish rights for trans people. We need to recognise that sadly liberation is not always linear.”
In contrast, Morgan has historically contested trans rights and identity across public platforms.
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