American TV host Mario Lopez apologised for comments made publicly last month, in which he said it was "dangerous" for parents to allow their trans children to express their gender identities from an early age.
"The comments I made were ignorant and insensitive, and I now have a deeper understanding of how hurtful they were," Lopez said in a statement to CNN.
He continued: "I have been and always will be an ardent supporter of the LGBTIQ+ community, and I am going to use this opportunity to better educate myself.
"Moving forward I will be more informed and thoughtful."
The former Saved By the Bell actor made the comments during an appearance on a podcast hosted by conservative commentator Candace Owens.
According to CNN, during the conversations, Owens raised the subject of "weird trends" in Hollywood, one of which was parents letting their children pick their own gender identity.
"I nannied for five years of my life", Owens said, adding that she doesn't think children have the "mental authority" to make such important decisions.
"I'm kind of blown away too," Lopez replied.
"Look, I'm never one to tell anyone how to parent their kids, obviously, and I think if you come from a place of love, you really can't go wrong. But at the same time, my God, if you're three-years-old and you're saying you're feeling a certain way, or you think you're a boy or a girl, whatever the case may be, I just think it's dangerous as a parent to make that determination."
He added, "It's sort of alarming and, my gosh, I just think about the repercussions later on."
Lopez's remarks were slammed by LGBTIQ+ organisations, with the Human Rights Campaign tweeting: "Mario Lopez’s comments are dangerous to the safety and well-being of LGBTQ youth, especially trans children who deserve to be loved and accepted for who they are."
