Alyssa Milano Under Fire For Tweet Celebrating “Transgender Sisters” On International Women’s Day

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Activist and actress Alyssa Milano is under fire for her International Women’s Day Tweet celebrating her “transgender sisters.” Not only did her message earn harsh criticism and backlash but it also opened up a conversation that Milano was thrilled to have with her 3.5 million followers.

“My transgender sisters! I am celebrating YOU this #NationalWomensDay!” wrote the mother of two on Friday.

Although several comments were praising Milano, a majority of them were criticizing her for calling out the transgender community. Twitter user Kirk Brown asked the former child star if she was transgender, provoking a response from Milano that has sent the social media world into a frenzy.

Personally I find “I see you and hear you” vomit inspiring. You should have stopped at the word offended.

— MiscellanyandQuirk (@MiscellanyQuirk) March 9, 2019

“I’m trans. I’m a person of color. I’m an immigrant. I’m a lesbian. I’m a gay man. I’m the disabled. I’m everything. And so are you, Kirk. Don’t be afraid of what you don’t know or understand. No one wants to hurt you. We are all just looking for our happily ever after,” shared the 46-year-old.

Anyone who follows the Charmed alum on social media knows she is very inclusive and is an advocate for human rights. However, her response caused Milano to come under fire for her generalization that she could relate to anything other than being a white straight woman.

“Look you could have said “I support” rather than “I am.” Because at the end of the day, you will never face the difficulties a trans woman, or a black woman, or a lesbian will. So saying “I am” comes off as condescending & gross,” Tweeted Elle Gato

“I’m confident that there are better ways to show solidarity than to claim identities that do not belong to you,” shared Blair Imani.

The great Rumi quote was my intention! https://t.co/IKNYs76dNg

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) March 9, 2019

As the remarks flooded in and the backlash mounted, Milano did not hesitate to squeel that her Tweet has started a conversation. She even apologized if she offended anyone, as that was not her intention. The advocate also used the message to remind her followers that empathy is not a bad thing.

Praise and support for transgender women turned out to be quite the controversy for Alyssa Milano. International Women’s Day is supposed to be a day of celebration and honor, but her Tweet invokes anger, frustration and dislikes for her choice of words.

Do you think her words were taken out of context or should she have phrased her message differently or would people be upset regardless of what she wrote?