On March 31st, Trans Day of Visibility, actor and far-right commentator James Woods ignited a firestorm on social media by posting an image of the Nashville school shooter, a transgender man, alongside the caption:
“Trans Day of Visibility…”
No further explanation was given, nor needed—for his followers and right-wing media allies, the implication was clear: transgender people are inherently dangerous.
It was a calculated move. Woods has long used his platform to stir up controversy and amplify anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, but this post was particularly egregious. He exploited a national tragedy—one in which six people lost their lives—to vilify an entire community based on the identity of a single individual.
In response, Bricki, the founder of TransVitae.com, replied with a satirical tweet aimed at highlighting the absurdity and cruelty of Woods’ post. It was what she herself described as a “return troll”—a sarcastic jab designed to mirror his own inflammatory tone.
But nuance doesn’t trend in right-wing media circles. Woods, leaning into his role as instigator-in-chief, proceeded to call on his followers to report Bricki to federal authorities, misrepresenting her post as a credible threat. His supporters, like loyal sycophants, obliged—spamming federal agencies and further endangering a trans woman already under the microscope.
Enter Twitchy.com, the digital megaphone of conservative outrage.
Twitchy Fails at Journalism—Again
On April 1st, Twitchy published a mocking, derisive article about Bricki’s response to Woods. The post, in typical Twitchy fashion, was all snark and zero substance. They failed to include any of Bricki’s follow-up tweets clarifying her original intent. They also didn’t reach out to her for comment. Instead, they cherry-picked a single tweet and served it up to their readers for pile-on and ridicule.
This is what Twitchy does. Founded by Michelle Malkin and now owned by Salem Media Group (which also owns RedState, HotAir, and Townhall), Twitchy exists to amplify right-wing grievances and manufacture outrage. It specializes in quote-tweeting left-leaning figures, often out of context, and stoking rage among its conservative base. It’s not journalism—it’s weaponized mockery, dressed up as news.
Their article about Bricki featured the usual tropes: jokes about pronouns, hand-wringing over “women’s spaces,” and the implication that Bricki had somehow crossed a line by—checks notes—responding to a powerful celebrity who was using a national platform to demonize her community.
The irony? Bricki didn’t threaten anyone. She clapped back. That’s it. Meanwhile, James Woods used his celebrity status to sic a mob on her, then stood back and watched.
The Dangerous Myth: “Trans People Are Violent”
This entire controversy hinges on a lie—that transgender people are disproportionately responsible for violence, particularly mass shootings. It’s a myth that continues to spread through conservative media, even though the statistics say otherwise.
Let’s talk facts.
Since the Columbine massacre in 1999, there have been more than 417 incidents of gun violence at schools in the U.S., according to The Washington Post. These shootings have resulted in over 200 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
And who are the perpetrators?
According to Gun Violence Archive data and a 2023 Reuters fact check, cisgender men are overwhelmingly responsible for mass shootings in America. Of the hundreds of mass shootings recorded over the past decade, less than 0.11% involved transgender individuals. Only about 2% of school-related mass shootings had suspects identified as transgender or nonbinary. The rest? Nearly all were cisgender men.
So when conservatives point to one shooter and scream “pattern,” what they’re really doing is ignoring hundreds of cis men who committed similar or worse acts. This selective outrage is not about safety—it’s about scapegoating.
Why Visibility Matters
Trans Day of Visibility, celebrated annually on March 31st, is a day meant to honor the existence, achievements, and resilience of transgender people. It’s not a threat to Women’s History Month. It’s not a replacement for women’s voices. In fact, many trans women are women. Many trans men were raised and socialized as girls. Nonbinary people have always existed—and always will.
What’s truly threatening is the attempt to silence, erase, and villainize us. Visibility saves lives. Misinformation—like the kind spewed by Woods and parroted by Twitchy—costs lives.
The Bottom Line
In the end, this isn’t just a story about one tweet or one celebrity meltdown. It’s about the coordinated effort to weaponize fear and misinformation against a marginalized community. It’s about media organizations that knowingly distort the truth to feed their agenda. And it’s about what happens when we let those lies go unchallenged.
At TransVitae, we believe in truth. We believe in context. And we believe that no one should be made a target for daring to speak up.
