Comedian Ilana Glazer and guest Matt Bernstein attacked Riley Gaines on a recent podcast, dismissing her campaign to protect women’s sports and calling her a grifter, while the debate over Lia Thomas and fairness in competition keeps drawing national attention.
Ilana Glazer spent part of a podcast session ridiculing Riley Gaines for her efforts to keep biological men out of women’s sports, calling the activist delusional and her critics part of a cruel movement. Matt Bernstein joined in, trading barbs and insisting Gaines is profiting off a culture war that hurts people. That tone was blunt and unapologetic, and it landed squarely on a high-profile athlete who has pushed for clarity and fairness in women’s athletics.
Bernstein, described on the show as a makeup artist and activist who refers to himself as a “queer Jew with long nails,” accused Gaines of “grifting millions of dollars” by bullying people without “societal capital.” Glazer framed the whole effort as the work of “right-wing people” and used sharp language to paint the campaign as sociopathic and self-interested. That mix of moralizing and mockery became the running theme of the segment.
‘She is mad she lost fifth place in a swimming competition to a trans woman.’
The row centers on the 2022 NCAA women’s 200-yard freestyle final where Gaines tied William “Lia” Thomas for fifth place, a fact that keeps coming up in every debate over fairness. Thomas also won the women’s 500-yard freestyle that year and became a national champion, a point that supporters of rules for women’s sports emphasize when arguing for a level playing field. Opponents of Gaines portray her as small-minded, while supporters say she’s raising a legitimate concern about competitive balance.
On the podcast, the hosts repeatedly reduced the debate to personal attack, turning policy disagreement into caricature. Glazer said, “That is so uncreative. That’s literally stealing,” linking the activism to broader “anti-trans messaging, which genuinely leads to violence against trans women.” Those lines were delivered with force, aimed less at argument than at delegitimizing Gaines’ motives.
Bernstein went further, claiming that Gaines and similar voices ignore “statistics or reality or truth” and instead monetize the fears of “the most minoritized people” in the country, a phrase meant to underscore hypocrisy. The show leaned into identity politics to undermine political opponents, arguing that raising concerns about eligibility is itself an act of cruelty. That tactic resonated with some listeners but repelled others who prefer a narrower focus on competitive fairness.
There is a factual backbone to the controversy that neither celebrity roast nor hot take can erase: disparities in performance and rankings before and after transitions. Thomas had been ranked far lower when competing in men’s events and much higher in women’s, which critics point to as evidence of a competitive edge. Those numbers and outcomes are what policymakers and athletic bodies have to wrestle with when they craft rules.
Gaines has not always spoken in pure anger. In a 2022 interview she said, “I am in full support of her and full support of her transition and her swimming career and everything like that.” She added, “because there’s no doubt that she works hard too, but she’s just abiding by the rules that the NCAA put in place, and that’s the issue.” That combination of respect for the individual and concern about the rules is precisely why the debate is complicated and politically charged.
Advocacy on the issue helped push an executive order aimed at keeping men’s athletes out of women’s sports in situations regulators consider unfair, and that policy shift is what many activists like Gaines view as a win for female athletes. Bernstein dismissed those moves as “so stupid,” while others interpret them as necessary protections for women’s competition. The disagreement is not merely rhetorical; it affects scholarships, championships, and the future of women’s athletics.
By the podcast’s end Bernstein suggested Gaines should “move on” and wish Thomas well, while Glazer labeled Gaines’ efforts a “money-making scheme” tied to “some new semblance of reality that she was robbed.” The clash shows how cultural fights over identity, fairness, and public influence play out in the media, with celebrities shaping public perceptions as much as policy makers do.
1 Comment
He or it can dish it out but how about taking it back! Ilana Glazer is an extremely mentally ill homosexual antichrist servant of Satan! And the just punishment will come to him!
Leviticus 18:22 “You shall not sleep with a male as one sleeps with a female; it is an abomination.”
Leviticus 20:13 “If there is a man who sleeps with a male as those who sleep with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they must be put to death. They have brought their own deaths upon themselves.”