Canadian politician Joel Harden might become the Great White North’s version of Jussie Smollett. On June 9th of this year, Harden appeared at a pro-transgender outdoor event in Ottawa in full support of the movement. Harden can be seen in several videos and pictures wearing full LGBTQ regalia. A particular focus of this march was young people. A plethora of signs with something along the lines of “protect trans youth” were visible. Naturally, there were “counterprotesters” who did not like the message that Harden and others were supporting. And, at a certain point, Harden initially claimed to be punched by one of them.
Joel Harden posted a picture of his face with a small cut under his eye with the caption “But I’ll take a punch for queer and trans youth any day.” The problem is that there is absolutely no evidence of him being punched. Actually, more evidence exists of Harden being a victim of a self-imposed injury, most likely on accident. The video shows Harden speaking into a megaphone with some sort of random jagged edge coming out of the back. He held the megaphone with this edge close to his eye while yelling into it. The megaphone somehow sticks him in the face and leaves a mark. The video shows that happening, but no punch.
Joel Harden eventually… shifts his story to admit the megaphone was the reason why his face was cut. He says that someone punched him but the megaphone took the brunt of the punch. Therefore, the jagged edge of the megaphone was pushed into his eye, leaving the cut. There is also no evidence for this series of events either. The video does not show him being attacked by someone else at all. The video shows Joel Harden holding the large device with the jagged edge entirely too close to his face for a while before it made contact with his skin. This was probably an accident, caused by his own goofy nature, that he attempted to spin into a Jussie Smollett victim narrative. Either way, there was no punch recorded on video.
SOURCES:
Ottawa’s Jussie Smollett Moment – by Christopher Brunet
Joel Harden on Twitter: “Update: last Friday, I broke up several altercations or near altercations that got started by anti-trans protesters. In one of these occasions, a woman was grabbing another woman by the hair. I put my body between them and separated them. 🧵” / Twitter
MPP punched in face at transgender protest? Or was cut from megaphone? | Toronto Sun
Joel Harden on Twitter: “@_llebrun And punching people in the face. But I’ll take a punch for queer and trans youth any day. https://t.co/vNHArmFtBX” / Twitter
