News - US television host David Letterman has been attacked for a joke about Amanda Simpson, the Trans woman newly appointed to the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security by President Barack Obama.

After Letterman showed an image of Simpson on The Late Show, an assistant was seen running from the set screaming: "Amanda? Amanda used to be a dude? Oh my God."





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The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said: "Depicting people reacting in horror to transgender individuals is a dangerous stereotype for popular media to perpetuate because it contributes to the societal conception of transgender people as abnormal and deceptive, which all-too-often results in anti-transgender violence and/or discrimination when played out in reality."

The makers of the show argue that it was mocking anti-trans sentiment.

Really? Then they could have made that clear - or at least funny. I don't have a solid history of agreement with GLAAD when it comes to "offense" and censorship, but I'm with them on this. If the best societal comment Letterman can come up with for a momentous occasion for Trans people is puke, then he deserves to be pilloried.