'Extra' Addresses Mario Lopez's 'Ignorant' Transgender Comments

"Extra" has addressed Mario Lopez' controversial transgender comments.

The TV host came under fire this week for claiming it was "dangerous" to let young children self-identify their genders.

Mario didn't appear on the show, as he is preparing to make a move to rival "Access Hollywood" next month; but "Extra" declared on Wednesday they were addressing it "head on".

"While we have enjoyed a long relationship with Mario Lopez, who we know to be a caring person, the opinions he expressed in this interview do not reflect those of 'Extra'," the producers said in a statement. "We wholeheartedly embrace our friends from the LGBTQ community and believe they need support and love. For more support on these issues you can go to GLAAD.org."

The show even had a dedicated segment, in which it interviewed GLAAD spokesperson Anthony Ramos, and Children's Hospital L.A.'s Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, who is a leading expert in trans-youth development.

"I think it's important to realize people can say, 'Yes, I support the community. I have gay friends, my cousin or aunt is a lesbian,' and that's wonderful, but at the end of the day, it's important to be educated on all aspects of our community," Ramos said.

Dr. Olson-Kennedy added: "I think the question about, 'When do you know your gender? What age are you when you know your gender?' is a very important one because we know people understand their gender at 3 or 4 years old. This was a big body of research that was undertaken in the 1970s."

Ramos continued: "GLAAD has always known 'Extra' to be a show to be very supportive and inclusive when it comes to the LGBTQ community, so I think that was the most surprising part of this was to see these comments."

Earlier on Tuesday, Lopez issued his own statement, acknowledging his comments were "ignorant and insensitive", and "hurtful".

"The comments I made were ignorant and insensitive, and I now have a deeper understanding of how hurtful they were," he said. "I have been and always will be an ardent supporter of the LGBTQ community, and I am going to use this opportunity to better educate myself. Moving forward I will be more informed and thoughtful."

The "Saved By The Bell" alum originally expressed his controversial viewpoint on Candace Owens' podcast in June, which resurfaced this week.

During the interview, Owens asked about the new "weird trend" of Hollywood celebrities such as Charlize Theron announcing that their child is self-identifying their own gender.

"I am trying to understand it myself, and please don't lump me into that whole [group]," Lopez responded. "I'm kind of blown away too."

"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 3 years old and you're saying you're feeling a certain way or you think you're a boy or a girl or whatever the case may be, I just think it's dangerous as a parent to make this determination then, 'well, OK, then you're going to a boy or a girl,' whatever the case may be," he said. "It's sort of alarming and my gosh, I just think about the repercussions later on."

He added: "When you're a kid... you don't know anything about sexuality yet. You're just a kid."

"Parents need to allow their kids to be kids, but at the same time you gotta be the adult in the situation. Pause with that... i think the formative years is when you start having those discussions and really start making these declarations... personally I just think it's way too young."

His comments drew plenty of ire online — including from "Queer Eye"'s Jonathan Van Ness and Karamo Brown — with many pointing out the difference between gender and sexuality.

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