The controversial conservative talk show host Bill O'Reilly is at it again.
Speaking Tuesday night on The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly likened transgendered people to Ewoks. The remark was first noted by the blog Queers United.
O'Reilly was speaking about a policy change made by Pittsburgh-based American Eagle Outfitters, which agreed to revise language in their employee handbook barring men from wearing women's clothing and vice versa after a lawsuit filed by transgendered staffers.
"You see them in malls, American Eagle Outfitters," O'Reilly said. "They got a little pamphlet that says to their employees you have to dress appropriately, particularly on the floor. You have got to dress neat. If you are a man, you can't dress like a woman and visa versa. You can't scare the customers. If your name is Fred, you can't look like Dolly Parton. Transgender people come in, challenge. American Eagle folds."
After others on the program defended American Eagle's policy change, O'Reilly responded, "If you owned a clothing corporation, you say, you can dress like an Ewok if you want... Ewok have genders too."
"All I want is a shirt," O'Reilly concluded. "That's all I want."
American Eagle also agreed to train its employees on transgendered issues as part of a settlement in the suit.
“To avoid further expense and the distraction of a prolonged argument, [we have] agreed to a compromise settlement in this case," a spokesman said. "We wholeheartedly believe that transgender individuals should be treated equally.�
This video is from Fox News' O'Reilly Factor, broadcast May 18, 2010.
