The University of Connecticut has canceled an event featuring comedian Owen Benjamin after he criticized the practice of giving hormone replacement treatment to young children.
Comedian Owen Benjamin was scheduled to perform at the University of Connecticut on October 25. On Wednesday, the student group that invited him and administrators pulled the plug on the event, citing concerns over remarks made by Benjamin on giving transgender hormone replacement therapy to young children.
“On September 25, 2017, Owen turned to social media to express views on certain marginalized communities,” the email read. “As the comments continued on the evening of September 26, 2017, the tone in the remarks became increasingly negative in sentiment.”
Benjamin elaborated on his thoughts on the topic in a recent event.
“Being in favor of trans rights does not make you a liberal, which I am, I’m in favor of trans rights,” Benjamin said. “Am I in a favor of preventing an 8-year-old from going through puberty because they want to wear a dress? Of course not. I’m so against that.”
“If that’s going to make me a bigot, then I’m a bigot. Because when I was five, when I was three, when I was seven, all I did was play the piano, weave cloth, go to my dad’s operas. I hated sports, I wore velour pants,” he continued. “I probably would have been labeled trans. I’m artistic, I probably would have wanted to wear a dress at some point.”
Benjamin has not backed down from his position on social media today.
The cancellation of Benjamin’s event confirms the testimonies of comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, John Cleese, and Jim Norton, who have all argued that the stifling aura of political correctness on campus makes it difficult to perform.
In a statement provided exclusively to Breitbart News, the University of Connecticut says it is honoring the student group’s right to rescind their offer to Benjamin. “UConn respects Mr. Benjamin’s free speech rights, along with our student group’s right to determine who it wishes to host on campus,” the university wrote. “The University is honoring the contract’s cancellation clause and paying his appearance fee.”
Fortunately, thanks to a cancellation clause in the contract, Benjamin will still be paid the entirety of his fee.