Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Thursday lamented that Americans are “whiny” about statutory rape and that when it comes to rape, boys are different than girls.
While discussing the recent case in New York, in which a female teacher has been charged with rape for allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old student, Carlson refused to believe that it should be considered rape.
“It’s ludicrous that we are calling this a rape. Are you serious?” Carson asked on Fox News’ “Outnumbered.” “I’ll tell you what’s wrong to this extent — he went and tattled to the police and destroyed her life. Are you joking? What a whiny country this is.”
Carlson went on to explain that underaged boys are not rape victims, especially if they chased after the older woman.
“You’re this boy, and all of a sudden you’re a rape victim? You pursue an older woman, and have a relationship with her, and you’re a rape victim?” he said. “It defies common sense. And anybody who’s being honest with himself knows exactly what I’m talking about. We all have to pretend.”
Previously, Carlson has claimed that getting sexually harassed by a female teacher is “greatest thing that ever happened” for boys.
When the female panelists on Outnumbered called out Carlson, arguing that he was furthering a double standard, he fully accepted that.
“Of course it’s a double standard! All standards are double standards,” he said. “Because it depends completely on the sex of a child. And if it’s a girl, it’s different from if it’s boy. And we have to pretend that’s not true?”
He then tells the other panelists that he doesn’t believe they actually think the 16-year-old boy was sexually assaulted.
“I don’t believe that you actually feel that way because it’s so far from reality. Why would I generate the amount of hate mail I’ve generated if I didn’t really believe it? Because I know that every person watching knows exactly what I mean, and we live in a country — you can never say anything that’s true,” he said.
“Boys and girls are not the same,” he concluded.
Watch the clip via Media Matters:
