Former Saved By The Bell star Mario Lopez has apologised about comments he made about children's gender identity.
The US TV presenter left Extra to become the new Access Hollywood presenter but before that had to clear up some "ignorant" comments her made about transgender kids.
Lopez told Candace Owen that it is "dangerous" and "alarming" for parents to honour the wishes of young children who identify with a gender other than the one assigned at birth.
Retracting the comments that he made in the controversial interview, Lopez said: "The comments I made were ignorant and insensitive, and I now have a deeper understanding of how hurtful they were.
"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."
There has been outrage after Lopez told Owens on her PragerU YouTube show that, like Owens, he is "blown away" when parents tolerate very young children making decision about their gender.
This came after actress Charlize Theron said her seven-year-old, Jackson, did not identify as a boy.
Lopez, who was known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater in Saved By The Bell said there were "weird trends" in Hollywood and Owens commented about a "new Hollywood mentality" in which celebrity parents believe their kids have the "mental authority" to choose a gender.
During the interview, Lopez agreed and added: "I'm never one to tell anyone how to parent their kids, obviously, and I always say if you come from a place of love, you really can't go wrong."
He then went on to say: "But at the same time, my God, if you're three years old and you're saying you're feeling a certain way and you think you're a boy or girl, whatever the case may be, I just think it's dangerous as a parent to make that determination then."
Lopez concluded: "My daughter thinks some boys have cooties. You don't know anything about sexuality yet. You're just a kid."
Lopez is due to debut as host of Access Hollywood in September.
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@trinitymirror.com or call us direct 0207 29 33033.
