YouTube removes video of man expressing regret over becoming transgender for violating ‘hate speech’ policy

“I said that children suffering from gender dysphoria should not be encouraged to try experimental hormones in surgery, and I stand by that statement,” Heyer said about the removal of the video.

In the deleted clip, which came from a panel dubbed the “Summit on Protecting Children from Sexualization,” Heyer said: “I stand before you with a mutilated body, with a life that was destroyed in many ways, redeemed by Christ certainly, but destroyed because I was affirmed and told how cute I look, how wonderful it was. And went to a gender therapist who said, ‘All you need to do is have hormones and reassignment surgery.’”

During a phone conversation with Google and YouTube representatives, the Heritage Foundation’s Emilie Kao argued that Heyer’s definition of gender dysphoria was consistent with the definition from experts.

“There are plenty of YouTube videos on this topic that address gender dysphoria as the American Psychological Association does, which is to classify it as a mental disorder,” Kao said. “But YouTube has decided, under the guise of ‘hate speech,’ to censor the viewpoint that it doesn’t like. This won’t help children and families struggling with this disorder who want information from both sides of the debate.”

YouTube justified the removal in a statement citing its policy regarding “hate speech.”

“Our hate speech policy prohibits videos which assert that someone’s sexuality or gender identity is a disease or a mental illness,” the company said in a statement. “We quickly remove videos violating our policies when flagged by our users.”

The Heritage Foundation posted another video in response to the censorship titled “YouTube Won’t Allow You to Hear These 6 Words From Former Transgender Identifying Person Walt Heyer,” featuring Heyer making similar statements from the first video about his regret over transitioning into a female.

President Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. tweeted about the removal of the video, telling people to “wake up.”

“Even though this is a very common theme it goes against the woke mob’s propaganda therefore it must be #canceled,” Trump Jr. tweeted Friday. “Wake up folks.”