Explosive: "How can a transvestite be more important than a woman?" said the FM100 radio host. Presentes contacted the actress and presenter, who responded: "There's a law that protects me." "I think the media outlet or outlets he works for should take action on this matter. As with harassers, people like him don't deserve to be hired. They're harmful to our society," added Flor de la V, who received an award and standing ovation at the most important ceremony of the theater season in Villa Carlos Paz, a summer destination in the province of Córdoba. The actress shared the nomination with her co-star Gladys La Bomba Tucumana, Carolina Papaelo (La Isla Encantada), and Adabel Guerrero (Bien Argentino; La evolución). The day after the awards ceremony, Córdoba radio host Claudio Caserta said on air: "Choosing a transvestite as a prominent female figure... Excuse me, but you're out of your minds," he said. He continued: “Honestly, I don’t mean it in a bad way. She’s not a woman! They have to respect women, damn it! How can a transvestite be more important than a woman? And the women, on top of that, do nothing, they just laugh it off. They’re losing clients, they’re losing awards. They’re losing everything, these resentful, sick transvestites, or homosexuals,” he added on his program, which airs on FM 100. Later, in a television interview, he not only didn’t retract his statement but argued that he had the authority to comment because he had hosted the Carlos Awards for three years. “What I’m saying is that the award was given wrongly. I don’t see her as a woman. I see her as a man dressed as a woman… I respect her, but for us, she’s a transvestite. Maybe I’m old and I don’t understand this. I know that everything is changing. The awards, in my opinion, were given wrongly,” he added.

Immediate condemnation

As soon as Caserta's remarks became public, there was widespread media, social, and institutional condemnation. The National Institute Against Discrimination (INADI), the Ombudsman's Office of the City of Buenos Aires, the LGBT Ombudsman's Office, and the Argentine LGBT Federation considered them a violation of the Gender Identity Law and discrimination against the entire trans community. INADI reported that it contacted Caserta and offered him information and training on issues of sexual diversity. Furthermore, INADI's Radio and Television Observatory issued a technical report regarding his statements, noting that one of the most frequent complaints they receive concerns media personalities who publicly comment on people's sexual identity. The president of FALGBT, Marcela Romero, also spoke out in condemnation: “These statements, which are still circulating in our society today, are deeply rooted in ignorance and hatred toward our identities. That is why we cannot let this type of aggression go unchallenged. We know that it is because of this hate speech that we end up losing our sisters. We call on Claudio Caserta to reflect on his actions and ask him to apologize. We will initiate all appropriate legal actions. We will no longer be silent, nor will we take a step backward in the fight for our rights. Enough with the hatred and femicides of trans people. Not one step back!” Finally, María Rachid, head of the Institute Against Discrimination at the Ombudsman's Office of the City of Buenos Aires, also spoke out. Furthermore, he urged Caserta to "reconsider and educate himself on the laws" and stated that they would support the organizations in all appropriate actions. He added: "We believe it is important to emphasize that the Argentine Republic has the most advanced Gender Identity Law in the world and the first LGBT Ombudsman's Office in Latin America. However, this does not guarantee true equality; for that, we must generate a profound cultural shift among everyone, where these statements, which are the product of deep ignorance, have no place and receive the condemnation they deserve."