Well this is embarrassing...
Anti-trans swimmer Riley Gaines tried to call out Penn State University for "canceling" her speech she was set to make on campus—but as it turns out, she failed to meet the deadline to submit the required documents that would allow her to do so.
Oops.
Gaines took to X, formerly Twitter, to call out the University's president who made a video stating she does not agree with many of the "actively hateful" speeches and groups on campus, but as a public university, Penn State is "bound by the First Amendment."
Gaines wrote:
“No way President of Penn State makes a whole video explaining why public institutions are legally obligated to let ‘bigots’ apparently like me on campus to speak then proceeds to CANCEL my speech tomorrow for real women’s day (X/X)."
Gaines deemed October 10 “Real Women’s Day" as 10/10 translates to the Roman numerals X/X...you know, like the two X chromosomes that make up "the only kind of woman", according to Gaines.
She continued:
“Have it your way. See ya tomorrow with a soap box and megaphone, Penn State!”
The university caught wind of Gaines' claims against them and issued a statement revealing that “no event featuring Riley Gaines has ever been canceled at Penn State.”
The statement continued that Turning Point USA, the conservative student group bringing Gaines to Penn State, did not meet the deadline to file the required documents to secure an indoor space for the event, which, as they explained, is "an expectation upheld for any recognized student organization at Penn State.”
The statement finished:
“The group then shared alternative plans for an outdoor event to celebrate free speech, and as late as last week they had no confirmation that Ms. Gaines would attend the event, however they sent a confirmation early this morning.”
Statement from Penn State.— Wyatt Massey (@Wyatt Massey) 1696944888
Gaines continued to argue...
...but ultimately ended up giving her speech in an outdoor space on the 10th.
People on social media felt Gaines should just admit her mistake and move on.
@FoxNews @Riley_Gaines_ "Penn State says event was not canceled but a deadline for submitting the room reservation was missed"\n\nOops. Happened to me before. Except I didn't go on Fox to tell millions of people that my voice is silenced. I'm sure the other millions of people who follow her on social\u2026— Primate (@Primate) 1696960399
@ClayTravis @Riley_Gaines_ She wasn't 'canceled'. The student organization bringing her in didn't submit the reservation for the indoor space in time. Then when they tried to get an outdoor one Gaines delayed confirming her end of committment till late last week. Details matter...\ud83e\udd37\u200d\u2642\ufe0f— GPinTN (@GPinTN) 1696943788
As usual Turning Point USA misleading for the outrage— Matthew Boedy (@Matthew Boedy) 1696971058
Getting yourself \u201ccancelled\u201d and then being a crying victim is the oldest trick in the anti-trans marketing book. @MeghanEMurphy and Chloe Cole @ChoooCole also did this recently.— Has that Lahl woman stopped surrogacy yet? (@Has that Lahl woman stopped surrogacy yet?) 1696981661
Of course, there are many who still believe Gaines was canceled by the university.
@GPinTN1 @ClayTravis @Riley_Gaines_ There was no \u201cscheduling mistake \u201c!!! That\u2019s an EXCUSE! Her group paid good money. PSU shouldn\u2019t be taking money & making reservations, then canceling! PSU is pathetic. Im an alumni and I denounce their stomping out free speech!— \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 Tracking\ud83d\udc30Justice \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 Tracking\ud83d\udc30Justice \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1696964797
@GPinTN1 @ClayTravis @Riley_Gaines_ Liar she was canceled— Dr Keeneland Dan (@Dr Keeneland Dan) 1696988529
@GPinTN1 @ClayTravis @Riley_Gaines_ Spin it anyway you want. It is a University, NOT some top secret facility. @penn_state could have accommodated if they had wanted too. They didn\u2019t, hence it was cancelled.— Pam Bible (@Pam Bible) 1696949383
Gaines did end up giving her speech outdoor on 10/10, but—even with a megaphone—had a difficult time speaking over all the protestors.
Gaines' response?
“What are you so scared of?”
“The truth? Science? Common sense? Logic? Reasoning?"
"I’d love to hear your argument here because what I’m here to talk about is men are men, women are women, and you cannot change your sex. It’s that simple.”
According to the school's blog Onward State:
"Gaines’ speech was largely drowned out by 'can’t swim' or 'protect trans rights' chants despite her use of a megaphone and additional microphones."
During the hour-and-a-half-long event, two protestors were eventually detained by Penn State police and escorted from the HUB lawn for "disorderly conduct."
@islamoradalover/Bluesky
@hillbillybluedog/Bluesky
