Overview

• During a live CNN town hall with Senator Bernie Sanders, Anderson Cooper misgendered civil rights attorney Grace Thomas, who uses they/them pronouns.
• Thomas corrected Cooper on-air, highlighting the challenges of addressing gender identity in real-time media settings.
• Conservative commentators quickly seized on the incident, using it to critique political correctness and mock progressive views on gender norms.
• Prominent conservative figures, including Riley Gaines and Colin Rugg, called for Cooper's resignation, framing the error as evidence of media bias.
• The misstep has intensified broader cultural and partisan debates over gender pronoun usage, reflecting ongoing divisions in American society.