Wendy Williams sparks backlash after saying gay men should 'stop wearing our skirts and heels'

Wendy Williams has been roundly criticized on social media after asserting that gay men should "stop wearing our skirts and our heels" on Thursday's episode of her talk show.

The 55-year-old was discussing "Galentine's Day", of Parks and Recreation fame, when she called out men in the audience who applauded the concept of celebrating your girlfriends on the 13th of February.

"If you’re a man and you’re clapping, you’re not even a part of this," she said. "You don’t understand the rules of the day. It’s women going out and getting saucy and then going back home."

"You’re not a part. I don’t care if you’re gay. You don’t get a mensie every 28 days," she continued. "You can do a lot that we do, but I get offended by the idea that we go through something you will never go through. And stop wearing our skirts and our heels."

To this comment, there were murmurs of opposition in the audience, but Williams continued, stating "Just saying, girls, what do we have for ourselves?" Looky here now, gay men, you’ll never be the woman that we are. No matter how gay, sir."

The backlash on social media was swift, with people taking to Twitter to point out that Williams has a considerable gay fanbase.

"#WendyWilliams trying to alienate the gay community when they are some of her biggest supporters. Oh dear," wrote one Twitter user, while another corroborated "Yes, it was a disgusting moment and she meant every word… I couldn’t believe it.."

Queer Eye's Tan France even started his own hashtag, #GayHeelsForWendy, to encourage gay men to show off their footwear in protest. "Uuuugh, Wendy Williams [...] Join my hashtag, so I/she can see your pics in heels!!" he captioned the tweet.