Last week, Trevor Noah hosted Tomi Lahren on the Daily Show to ask her about some of her controversial opinions she has broadcasted on her show, TheBlaze. Lahren, a 24-year old raised in South Dakota, is known for her overtly right opinions. She has commented on Black Lives Matter calling it the "new KKK," she has called out Colin Kaepernick for taking a knee during the national anthem, and has even ranted about Beyonce.
An anti-feminist, Tomi has discussed the modern day feminist movement by saying "it isn't about equality...It's about man-bashing & free birth control." Even worse, she has said "the feminists are all about female freedom of expression so long as the female is overweight or transgender. You can't pick and choose what type of women fit your agenda."
As a feminist myself, I find these comments detrimental to the feminist movement as a whole. Feminism is not about man-bashing. Feminism is about equal rights for women, access to health care that we have a right to, and yes, freedom of expression. I do not attempt to fit anyone to "my agenda" as a feminist. If you identify as female, I will stand for your rights as much as I stand for my own, simple as that.
When Trevor Noah interviewed her, he asked many questions about her opinions out of genuine curiosity. Not rudely, he pointed out "For someone who's not racist, you have to spend a lot of time saying, 'I'm not racist'" to Lahren. Tomi retorted saying that she isn't a racist and that she "doesn't see color," which Noah visibly cringed at before replying, "You don't see color? What do you do at traffic lights?" She then went on to discuss her blatant dislike for the BLM movement, equating it to the KKK. She has the opinion that because certain terrorists have gone after police officers in the name of "BLM," that the whole BLM movement is anti-white and hateful. Trevor Noah replied, "Just because you say the thing, it doesn't mean that's what it stands for. You're the same person who argued on your show that just because
I think my biggest issue with Tomi Lahren is that she has hatred for things that she doesn't seem to really understand. Equating the BLM movement to the KKK doesn't make sense, because as Trevor Noah said, "The KKK still exists." Lahren's angry rants are often not factually based, and attempt to incite anger in her viewers that isn't really relevant or necessary. Lahren expresses hatred for feminism, BLM, and many other organizations and ideals mainly focused on the rights of people who lack them due to our failing system in the United States.
