CNN Commentator: Chelsea Manning Will Get 'Good Practice' Being Female in Prison

During Saturday’s edition of CNN Newsroom, commentators demeaned Chelsea Manning while discussing the possibility of her receiving treatment for gender dysphoria while in prison, reports Media Matters.

Civil rights attorney Avery Friedman and criminal defense attorney Richard Herman spoke with CNN host Fredricka Whitfield about the unique nature of Manning’s case, as she would be serving her sentence for leaking classified documents in an all-male military prison, although she’s revealed she is transgender.

They all continued to incorrectly refer to Manning as “he,” but it was Herman, a regular CNN legal commentator, who made particularly deplorable comments about Manning, suggesting she would get “good practice” being a female in prison and calling the idea of Manning receiving adequate medical care while serving her sentence “beyond insanity.”

Friedman also cracked jokes at Manning’s expense, saying, “You know, when he puts that wig and lipstick on, the guy’s a dead ringer for Tonya Harding.”

The American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement following Manning’s coming out that stressed the importance of medically necessary treatment for her while she’s incarcerated and saying the denial of treatment would “raise serious constitutional concerns” and “without the necessary treatment, gender dysphoria can cause severe psychological distress, including anxiety and suicide.”

Watch the full discussion in the clip below.