BBC Hit With Backlash For Quoting Lesbian Porn Star Who Called For 'Lynching' Of Trans Women

A week ago, the BBC was bashed online for publishing and defending its transphobic, unsubstantiated article claiming trans women often pressured lesbians into sex and for featuring quotes from former adult film star, Lily Cade, who advocated for the execution and lynching of trans women.

On Thursday, the BBC removed all references to Cade, an openly transphobic activist who previously apologized for her own multiple sexual assault allegations in 2017.

However, the BBC refused to take down the article, despite the online backlash and after being informed about Cade's accusers.

Cade, who was seen in several lesbian films and was nominated for an AVN Award for Best All-Girl Group Sex Scene in both 2011 and 2012, had written a series of vitriolic blog posts on her website.

In one of the posts, titled, "Where are these children's mothers" Cade portrayed trans women as "vile, weak, disgusting whiny, fake-victim" and advocated violence against them.

She wrote:

"If you left it up to me, I'd execute every last one of them personally. Cancel the ever-living f'k out of this. Cancel this so hard that no man dare walk the path of the trans woman in public ever again!"

Cade then called for the lynchings of prominent trans women.

"Enough is enough. Lynch Kaitlyn! Lynch the 'Sisters' Wachowski! Lynch Laurel Hubbard! Lynch Fallon Fox! They can't take down Lily Cade. She's already dead. I'm the bullet, bitch. I'm a f'king soldier. You ready? I'm ready."

The BBC's controversial article published on October 26 primarily shared alleged recollections from anonymous lesbians who claimed they were threatened or shamed into having sex with trans women.

The article gave a one-sided perspective by only citing anti-transgender LGB groups and utilizing a study based on members from inside those transphobic organizations.

It's the equivalent of going to the Ku Klux Klan as a source for accurate information about racial minorities.

In response to the article, watchdog group Trans Media Watch (TMW) accused the BBC of transphobia and noted the article's potential of having damaging effects on the trans community.

"Either the BBC has failed to do due diligence on this story—or the team producing this story have knowingly colluded in a disinformation campaign targeted at trans people."

"Irresponsible reporting like this is dangerous. It significantly and adversely impacts trans people's day-to-day lives."

With the removal of Cade from the BBC article, a new addendum stated:

"We have updated this article, published last week, to remove a contribution from one individual in light of comments she has published on blog posts in recent days, which we have been able to verify."

"We acknowledge that an admission of inappropriate behavior by the same contributor should have been included in the original article."

The "inappropriate behavior" mentioned referred to Cade's sexual assault allegations made by a number of women. She addressed the issue in her blog posts and justifying her actions by saying powerful men assault women too.

Wrote Cade:

"If a rapist is someone who is accused in public of sexual misconduct, then I am a rapist."

"So, too, are three of your last four presidents, the men who sit in your halls of power, and the men who make judgments over your laws. So are all of your heroes, and you know it, and you don't care."

"If a rapist is someone who pays women to have sex that they don't actually want to have, then I am a goddamn f'king rapist, and your world is run by rapists."

According to Pink News, the BBC published the story after the broadcaster was made aware of Cade's sexual assault allegations by trans sex worker and activist Chelsea Poe, who they interviewed.

A BBC spokesperson defended the article, saying:

"This is an important piece of journalism that raises issues that should be discussed."

Trans Activism UK, which initially called for the BBC to remove the article via an open letter, issued a statement, titled, "The BBC quietly removing Lily Cade isn't enough."

The group explained why dropping references to Cade without mentioning her by name was "not sufficient as a correction or apology."

The statement read, in part:

"While the BBC have removed the quotes and statements by Lily Cade from the article, they did not mention Lily Cade by name in the retraction, or the nature of her genocidal transphobic manifesto in the days following the BBC's article, the nature of the sexual assault allegations against her by cisgender lesbians, how they undermine the core point of the original article (that sexual assaults of cis lesbians are specifically being done by trans women as an overall societal group), or that Caroline Lowbridge was well aware of those allegations prior to the publishing of the article and chose to bury that information, as alleged by Chelsea Poe."

It added:

"By choosing to remove all mention of Lily Cade, rather than contextualise her as a cisgender lesbian accused of the same crimes levied in the piece against trans women, the BBC is again choosing to bury the rebuttal arguement that anyone from any background can be an abuser, and that to paint this as a trans woman specific issue is painting a minority group with a single brush stroke… This is not sufficient as a correction, or apology."

"The BBC needs to own up to the fact they have published something deeply dangerous, platformed dangerous individuals, and should not be allowed to quietly sweep this under the rug."

Trans Activism UK concluded their statement by emphasizing the BBC's response to the backlash "should not be seen as a victory," but merely as the first step on a long road for them to acknowledge the issues raised by the trans community.