Sonny Bill Williams in hot water over ‘transphobic’ tweet

All Blacks legend Sonny Bill Williams is copping major backlash online with some people accusing him of being 'transphobic'.

Social media users have hit out at the cross code sports star after he seemingly backed a woman who 'thanked God' that her parents 'were sane' and wouldn’t let her get a sex change when she was a child.

Doctor Anastasia Maria Loupis has built up an anti-transgender following online.

Taking a glance over at her Twitter feed and it's filled with various anti-gay, anti-trans, anti-vaxx comments.

But it was one of her more recent posts which caught SBW's attention.

“From ages 4-12 I wore boys’ clothes, played boy sports and rejected all thing ‘girly’. When my brother teased me for being a girl, I even said that when I got older I would ‘cut my boobs off’. I was not transgender, I just idolised my brother. Thank God my parents were sane,” Doctor Loupis tweeted.

Former rugby union and league player SBW re-tweeted the post, captioning it with the '100, 100' emojis to show his support.

The re-tweet started going viral as people began piling into the ex-heavyweight boxer, many of whom saying they were 'disappointed' by his 'transphobic' views.

Upon finding himself in the firing line, he swiftly deleted the post.

“Sonny Bill, I had a massive amount of respect for you, both as a rugby league & union player, and as a decent human being. I strongly urge you to listen to more transgender voices, so you can learn and understand how hateful & out of touch spreading this anti-trans rhetoric is,” one person wrote on Twitter.

“I assume there are plenty of transphobic personalities, I just wish I never had to see them coming out. Sonny, this is harmful and untrue of many trans journeys. Time to find a trans ally rugby/league player to follow now,” wrote another.

“These people have massive platforms, it’s not good,’ commented one, while another wrote that Williams should ‘listen to your trans brothers and sisters... instead of reposting disinformation’.”

Well, this is disappointing. And I’m saying that as a girl who was tomboy and is now a butch lesbian, who understands you are who you are and the world is better for it.

— Alice Soper (@alicesoapbox) February 6, 2023

You cannot have gender reassignment surgeries in New Zealand until you’re 18, an adult! Sonny Bill Williams retweeting a tweet that suggests we are cutting off children’s “boobs” is blatant misinformation. Fear mongering on his large platform will cause trans people harm.

— Shaneel Lal 🧚🏻 (They/Them) (@shaneellall) February 6, 2023

maybe sonny bill williams should TRY listening to queer people and not TACKLE these topics when he's not even part of the SCRUM (im just so tired)

— Mx. Well 💜 (GENDER MARXIST opens 7th March) (@mxwellnz) February 6, 2023

Not Sonny Bill Williams deleting his tweet. Why in 2023 are we still not thinking before fixing our fingers to tweet 🫠

— Junior Levi (@juniorlevi_) February 6, 2023

Time to cancel Sonny Bill Williams

— 🇺🇦 (@tgardinertoi) February 6, 2023

Meanwhile, another added: "I assume there are plenty of transphobic personalities, I just wish I never had to see them coming out. Sonny, this is harmful and untrue of many trans journeys. Time to find a trans ally rugby/league player to follow now."

But not everyone was onboard with slamming the 37-year-old with others leaping to his defence and even praising him for having his say.

One said: "What Sonny is saying is true, all that previous behaviour didn’t make her transgender... in today’s climate they would have started hormone blockers."

While another added: "This is right, if kids get a legal right to go through with a lot of their youthful thoughts, with no pushback from parents and very little life experience, they will grow up with a tonne of regrets."