‘Please be better’: Trinetra Haldar slams Orry’s viral gender-neutral bathroom comments

Actor, doctor and transgender activist Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju has criticised Orhan Awatramani, popularly known as Orry‘s remarks on gender-neutral bathrooms during his recent appearance on content creator Kavya Karnatac’s podcast, calling the discussion irresponsible and accusing it of spreading misinformation about transgender rights.

The controversy began after a clip from Karnatac’s podcast Learn By KK Create went viral on social media. In the discussion, Orry questioned the idea of gender-neutral bathrooms and raised concerns about women sharing such spaces with men.

Responding to the viral excerpts, Trinetra shared a video on Instagram and urged podcast hosts to be more responsible when discussing sensitive issues.

“I was watching clips of this particular podcast because it was on my feed and I just want to say one thing to every podcast host. Please stop bringing guests onto your show if they are not a subject matter expert and if they have no lived experience on the topic,” she said.

Trinetra then spoke about her own experience as a transgender woman, recalling how unsafe public restrooms had become for her during her time in medical school.

“I am a transgender woman who at one point could not use the male or the female restroom because both had become very unsafe and I developed UTIs because I would not drink water in medical school as an MBBS student,” she said.

She further argued that the conversation misrepresented what transgender people are actually demanding.

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“People lose jobs, people quit their jobs and transgender people all over the country just lost some of their basic rights because of the trans person’s act. No one is asking for only gender neutral restrooms. What people are asking for is a safe place to go to the restroom other than male and female restrooms.”

She said that the demand is for additional options rather than replacing existing facilities, she added, “People want all three, not just one. I know y’all want views and PR and engagement but not at the cost of a marginalised community. Please be better.”

In the caption accompanying her post, Trinetra directly addressed the podcast and accused it of prioritising engagement over facts.

“So, so irresponsible of you @kk.create – please do better, this seriously brings your credibility into question. No one’s asking your daughters to share restrooms with men. The ask is simple – that everyone have access to use a safe restroom. If that means male, female and a third neutral restroom for everyone’s safety, so be it.”

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She further wrote, “If you haven’t done the research before calling on a guest to refute claims, don’t edit those clips and put them up for views.”

Trinetra also criticised the decision to platform views she described as “divisive and transphobic” without offering any counterarguments.

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What sparked the controversy?

The debate began after Orry’s comments on gender-neutral spaces went viral online.

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In the clip from Learn By KK Create, host Kavya Karnatac appeared supportive of the idea of gender-neutral spaces. Orry, however, disagreed and stressed the importance of separate facilities, particularly when it comes to women’s safety and privacy.

Orry directly questioned Karnatac’s position asking, “If you had a daughter and she went to pee and there was a man with his ding dong is peeing next to her, would you be okay with that.”

Karnatac laughed before responding, “I want genderless spaces.”

Orry then pressed further, asking whether she would be comfortable with any man using the same restroom space near her daughter. She eventually replied that she would not.

The conversation quickly sparked debate online. While several users supported Orry’s comments, others argued that the discussion oversimplified a complex issue involving transgender access, safety and inclusive public spaces.

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This article reports on public opinions and viral social media discussions for informational purposes.