A segment on Britain-based Channel TalkTV took an unexpected turn when anchor Julia Hartley-Brewer pushed back on a guest who introduced herself as they/them. The incident occurred during a live broadcast, causing a stir among viewers and sparking a debate on the issue of gender identity and language usage in the media.

Julia Hartley-Brewer had invited journalist and trans activist Shivani Dave to discuss the CASS Review, an independent assessment of NHS gender identity services for children and young people. However, the conversation went south when Hartley-Brewer introduced Dave using she/her pronouns, leading to a contentious moment in the discussion.

Dave said, “Good afternoon, Julia. You know my pronouns are they/them. How are you doing?”

Despite Dave’s explicit request for non-binary pronouns, Hartley-Brewer declined to use them, citing adherence to what she deemed “correct grammar.”

“You can choose what you want to call yourself. But you don’t get to require me to use incorrect grammar and factually incorrect things,” Hartley-Brewer said.

She added, “You’re not a plural. You’re one person, and you’re a female person. So, I will use ‘she’ and ‘her,’ thank you very much.”

Attempting to steer the conversation back to the review, Dave said, “Do what you like, I guess.” She added it is not grammatically wrong to use they/them pronouns for an individual. Dave further expressed that they want people to use the correct pronouns in case they want to refer to them “respectfully”.

To which Hartley-Brewer asked “is it disrespectful to use correct, factual grammar?”

The anchor added that she is using “correct pronouns for a single woman appearing on her show.”

“Okay. I’m not special. I’m just a boring, old, heterosexual, married woman. But you know, sorry about that. We’re not allowed to do that anymore,” Hartley-Brewer said.

Take a Look at the Video:

The video, since being shared on Instagram, has clocked numerous views and a flurry of likes along with numerous comments.

“The way this got me fuming,” said an Instagram user.

Another added, “So disgusting. It’s not that hard to use they/them pronouns for one person. We do it all the time if we don’t know the gender of a person.”

“Disgusting! If a person wants to be called they/them that is their right as a person,” said a third.