CNN anchor Anderson Cooper got called out for misgendering a member of the audience during a Wednesday town hall event with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
While introducing the audience member’s question to the progressive lawmaker, Cooper referred to the person as a “she,” prompting the individual to correct him before getting to the question.
“They/them pronouns, actually. Thank you,” the person told the anchor, likely indicating a non-binary identification.
Cooper made the alleged error while reintroducing Sanders following a commercial break during the program.
“And welcome back for our live CNN town hall. We‘re back with Sen. Bernie Sanders. I want to introduce Grace Thomas. She‘s a local civil rights attorney. She‘s a Democrat. Grace,” he said, inviting the person to speak.
Thomas corrected him, prompting Cooper to respond, “Oh.” Thomas then laughed and moved on to her question, which was gender-related.
“Good evening, Sen. Sanders. Polling and turnout data indicate that men of all racial demographics are turning away from the Democratic Party. But of course, White men in particular do not feel that the DNC‘s messaging targets them in the issues that they care about.”
The non-binary person then asked, “Should progressive campaigns craft policies and messaging to better encapsulate these voters? And if the answer is yes, how do they do so without abandoning marginalized voters of color and gender?”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
Sanders responded by touting his progressive policy stances and noting that bringing the Democratic Party up to speed on economic issues and helping the working class will shore up the party’s support among its diverse contingent.
“I believe that we got to end all forms of bigotry. Et cetera. Et cetera. Not everybody agrees with me. But you know what, Grace? On many economic issues, there is widespread agreement and the failure of the Democratic Party,” he said.
The exchange created a buzz on social media, with prominent X users mocking Cooper for the flub.
Conservative influencer Collin Rugg shared a clip of the exchange, and added his own sarcastic comment, “NEW: CNN’s Anderson Cooper gets corrected after misgendering a civil rights attorney at a town hall event with Bernie Sanders. Wow, what a bigot.”
JURY FINDS CNN COMMITTED DEFAMATION AGAINST NAVY VETERAN, SETTLEMENT REACHED ON PUNITIVE DAMAGES
Former NCAA swimmer and women’s rights activist Riley Gaines poked fun at Cooper, posting, “Calling for Anderson Cooper’s immediate resignation for believing what his eyes were telling him he saw. Bigot.”
Outkick.com founder Clay Travis found the exchange amusing, writing, “Anderson Cooper called out for misgendering during a CNN town hall with Bernie Sanders. This is absolutely perfect.”
Conservative columnist Tim Young shared, “I can’t stop laughing at this attention seeking leftist correcting Anderson Cooper on her pronouns. ‘They/them actually…’ Democrats will never win another election again.”
Conservative commentator Paul Szypula joked, “CNN needs to fire AC immediately. His insensitivity and transphobia cannot be tolerated! The Left is a laughingstock.”
CNN did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
