A trans-identified male who was profiled as a struggling “mother” in a recent ITV News video on soaring water bills in the UK is now defending himself amidst backlash for “breastfeeding” a baby. Mika Minio-Paluello, a man who identifies as a woman, is calling criticism of transgender breastfeeding “anti-trans hate.”
On June 28, ITV published an article about the country’s biggest water supplier, Thames Water, reporting that the company risks collapse due to soaring debt. The broadcaster shared a video along with the article that featured a trans-identified male presented as a Thames Water customer.
During the video, ITV Consumer Editor Chris Choi stated: “This customer fears that either bill payers or taxpayers will end up picking up the tab [of the failing water supplier].”
Minio-Paluello then gives his input on the current state of affairs but curiously refers to himself as a “mother” during the interview.
“The idea that we’re going to have even greater water bills, soaring bills, a time of prices already being hiked, and we have to pay a lot for food… that’s tough if you’re a mum like me already struggling to get the things that my kid needs,” Minio-Paluello says.
The very next day, UK writer and broadcaster Paul Embery shared the clip of Minio-Paluello and wrote: “ITV news did a piece about the impact of soaring water bills on an everyday mother. So naturally they got a man to play the part.”
As of writing, Embery’s tweet has garnered almost six million views.
The clip generated a massive amount of backlash, with women’s rights advocates concerned about ITV being complacent in the erasure of mothers.
Member of Parliament Rosie Duffield shared the clip of Minio-Paluello and added her own commentary, writing: “Dear @itvnews, I am sure this is a lovely, intelligent and decent human being. This was an important piece. This is not however a struggling ‘mother.’”
