A California high school student who torched her school district over a transgender bathroom policy is speaking out on the backlash following her heated speech, saying she has garnered more "hate" than gratitude for her passionate stand.
Former Martin Luther King High School student Megan Simpkins detailed the reaction she has received from her community after slamming the school for "affirming the mental confusion" of trans students at the expense of their female counterparts.
"Surprisingly, a lot of people at my school have not really recognized me. I have had two students come up to me and say that, 'Hey, you really spoke out on behalf of women. We're proud of you. You go,'" Simpkins said during "America's Newsroom" Wednesday.
"But on a personal level… I have received a lot more hate, a lot more criticism," she continued. "I've been called a white supremacist. I've been called a bigot... transphobic… If apparently telling the truth that a male will always be a male and a female will always be a female, and therefore you are supposed to be going to either a male or female space, then I guess I am a transphobe. Then I guess I am a bigot. Because if that is how you see me, then I cannot change how you view me and how you view the truth."
Simpkins spoke at a Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) board meeting, where she warned about the issue of "biological men claiming they are women and in turn truly believing that they are entitled to use women's spaces."
"The question we must address is: Why are we affirming the mental confusion of this boy and putting the safety of women in jeopardy by allowing mentally confused men to use women's spaces?" she asked when speaking before the school board.
The school came under fire after a video went viral depicting an altercation between a transgender student and a female student on campus. Parents reportedly told Fox 11 the transgender student has a history of "erratic and uncomfortable behavior" and had access to the girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms.
Riverside Police also claimed this was not the first time the transgender student has been involved in an altercation. Many voiced their outrage that such a sequence of events was allowed to happen in the first place at a recent school board meeting.
"I personally have experienced something similar to this," Simpkins said. "I have not been a victim of assault by a male, but I am an athlete. I play volleyball. I have competed against trans women, and it's just so sad to see that we've come this far in society just to be told that we're nothing. Like it doesn't matter what we do, that they can just take… our awards, just like what happened with Riley Gaines… with Lia Thomas… That's just so unacceptable. It's just totally wrong. It's stealing."
"I personally do not stand for when we have people in power that are in charge of running our country, that are basically telling us that your logic… the ability to… critically think about this, is not important at all anymore," she continued. "And it further induces people to think, and especially children, to be confused on this matter. They are ultimately creating chaos."
Following the incident, the RUSD released a public statement saying, "Since the incident occurred, District staff has been working to ensure the safety and rights of all students are considered and promptly responded to."
The statement also mentioned the student involved would no longer be attending the school.
Fox News' Alexander Hall contributed to this report.
