Not even the fictional world is safe from the transgender trend. TVLand’s Lopez is one of the latest shows to bring up the ongoing fight for representing less than one percent of the population, but it may also be one of the few to take an honest look at how ridiculous it is for a change.
In the April 12 episode “Coco for Lopez” George Lopez meets with Human Resources to help hire a popular transgender actress for his new show Valleys. Unfortunately, that proves harder than he thought when the world of political correctness comes to literally define the terms.
HR Woman 1: HR has called this meeting to discuss Coco. There are many issues that are important to the lgbtq community.
Lopez: Whoa-whoa-whoa, hold up, hold up. So, so lgbtq is, uh, lesbian, gay, bi, trans. And then the, man, the Q-- What's the Q?
HR Woman 1: Queer.
Lopez: How is that different?
HR Man: Actually, it's lgbtq, I-s and a-s. I-s is intersexual, a-s is asexual. We're reserving the letters J, R and M for further classification.
HR Woman 1: In any event, we are here to discuss what can and cannot be said about and around Coco with respect to Coco's...
Lopez: Being a transsexual.
HR Woman 1: Oh, my.
Lopez: Oh, my? What?
Olly: I don't think we're supposed to use that word.
HR Man: Legal believes the correct term is transgender.
Lopez: Beautiful, transgender.
HR Man: But we prefer you not use that either.
Lopez: Why not?
HR Man: We're not sure.
Lopez: Oh, come on, why don't I just say, like, "Hey, Coco, I'm George, male, Mexican, heterosexual. What do you like to be called?"
Olly: Uh, remember, George, you're cisgender or cis male. I think we're supposed to use cis in there somewhere.
HR Woman 1: Uh, George, HR is not comfortable with you saying Mexican, male or heterosexual.
Lopez: Which one do you hate the most?
HR Man: If creative insists on going down this path of confrontation with Coco, legal cannot sanction this meeting.
HR Woman 2: (Clears throat) Olly?
Olly: Uh, not a problem. As executive producers, George and I will make sure that everyone shows due sensitivity to Coco, mm-hmm, right, George?
Lopez: Right. Yeah, that's right, absolutely. Listen, Coco is gonna be happy with whatever we call her.
HR Woman 2: You can't say her or she.
HR Woman 1: Until Coco self-identifies. Meantime, perhaps a gender-neutral pronoun. Ze, zy, zum, zir, zis.
Lopez: Oh, come on, what's, what's happening?
HR Man: For now, it's best if we use Coco's name at all times. For example, "Please take Coco to Coco's dressing room." Any questions?
I, for one, am curious as to what the J will stand for in the future. Does anybody else think this is what happens behind closed Hollywood doors and they just don’t want to tell us? It’s just too ridiculous not to be true.
The episode also takes a less than PC turn when George insults the actress Coco (played by transgender Rain Valdez) when Coco (can’t use pronouns) wants to be the lead, even though he is an experienced actor and Coco’s a small Vine star. The very notion that George would be upset sends chills up the spines of the HR agents.
Lopez: So when the network said we were excited about doing a show with Coco, I said, hey, I'm a big fan of her-- of Coco's (chuckles). You know? I said let's bring Coco in. Then see what Coco has to, to say about Coco's one self. (Nervous chuckle) So, I think that Coco, you would be a great, a great addition to the show.
Coco: Addition? As in, like, an afterthought?
Olly: Co-star.
Lopez: Yeah, sidekick.
Olly: MM... Equals.
HR Man: The network is dedicated to equality. We've been at the forefront of lgtb...q, is and as rights.
HR Woman 1: Especially T.
Coco: See... (Clears throat) When they called me, they said we've got a show for Coco. It's about a private eye and it takes place in Mexico.
Lopez: Oh, yeah, actually, it takes place here, literally, uh, here in the valley, you know, where I grew up. And it's about the people that, uh, live there and still live there, so, it's, uh, tragic. There's a little bit of joy. But it's personal, it's very gritty, very real. And very relevant.
Coco: So, I thought a show for Coco. As in Coco's show? As in what I was promised when I signed my deal! I'm not here to be your token.
HR Woman 1: Oh, no.
Olly: No...
HR Woman 2: You're like the prize. (Crosstalk) Coco is stunning, stunning, Gorgeous.
Lopez: Um, so... (Chuckling) What do you think, that you're the lead?
Coco: Uh, I don't know the old media term for it, George, but I would never have told people that you were my sidekick.
HR Woman 2: So, generous, Coco.
HR Woman 1: Magnanimous is not a strong enough word.
Lopez: It's, it's very big of you, Coco, but here's the thing. The show is about a Mexican investigator and, um... I'm the Mexican.
HR Woman 1: But we would never use the M word. Maybe Latino? Latina? Latin-z?
Coco: How about this? What if George is my informant?
HR Woman 2: Love it.
HR Man: Perfect.
Lopez: No, it's not perfect because that's not the show.
Olly: But we're just blue skying here, right? So, everything's on the table.
Coco: I'm glad everything is on the table. But how about it comes off the table and into the goddamn script?!
Lopez: Okay, who the hell does Coco think Coco is?
Coco: Excuse me?
Lopez: Okay, whatever this show ends up being, do you really think you have the right to tell me that I can't be the lead in my own show? I paid my dues. I been in this business for over 30 years. You were on Vine for, what, six seconds? And not-- they're not even around anymore. That's right, I checked.
HR Man: Legal is not comfortable with the tone that this meeting is going.
Lopez: Of course, not. Coco, listen. If you don't wanna be a token, and you wanna be treated like everyone else, pay your dues!
HR Woman 1: This is a disaster. It's actionable.
HR Man: Legal is leaving the room.
Coco: And so is Coco.
Lopez: But there's, you know, chemistry between us, I think?
Coco proudly proclaims in the episode, “I don’t put on a bra and heels not to be called 'she'” to HR, because that clearly defines a woman. In this show, George is only special because he doesn’t pay too much attention to Coco's belief that Coco is a woman despite not being born one, not exactly a message that would send waves through Hollywood.
Nevertheless, it appears that Coco is here to stay for Lopez since Coco does take the part. Will they make more anti-PC jokes? Probably so, but not enough to really make a difference.
