Editing Leonard Lai
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Leonard Lai left WATW in 1994 and joined then Fox affiliate WFWV (channel 5, became CBS in 2004 as WFAZ, and now an ABC affiliate) first as a general assignment reporter, and then as a news anchor. | Leonard Lai left WATW in 1994 and joined then Fox affiliate WFWV (channel 5, became CBS in 2004 as WFAZ, and now an ABC affiliate) first as a general assignment reporter, and then as a news anchor. | ||
| − | He and co-anchor Connor Sonslin created ''Wabash Valley Live at Seven'', Terre Haute's first 7pm newscast in 2005, creating a two-man anchor team for its weeknight 7 and 11 pm newscasts. This had not been tried in other markets around the nation as late as 1993 and had never been tried in Terre Haute since 1970, yet WFAZ's sister station in Cleveland (WCOH, channel 10) did the same with | + | He and co-anchor Connor Sonslin created ''Wabash Valley Live at Seven'', Terre Haute's first 7pm newscast in 2005, creating a two-man anchor team for its weeknight 7 and 11 pm newscasts. This had not been tried in other markets around the nation as late as 1993 and had never been tried in Terre Haute since 1970, yet WFAZ's sister station in Cleveland (WCOH, channel 10) did the same with Steve Baker and Gene Watts from 1985 until 1991. It caught on until Lai left WFAZ in 2011 in a move that made local headlines. WFAZ had just announced earlier in the year that it was dropping its eight year affiliation with [[wikipedia:CBS|CBS]] in favor of [[wikipedia:American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] since WFAZ's [[Patrice Rafferty|owners]] recently renewed their ABC affiliations (as of 2014, all of ATE Media's big three stations are all ABC affiliates). Lai was unhappy with ABC's programming as it conflicted with his family friendly focus. |
=== WVTH (NBC 25) === | === WVTH (NBC 25) === | ||
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===''Vote for the Girls''=== | ===''Vote for the Girls''=== | ||
{{See also|Vote for the Girls (U.S.)|Vote for the Girls (UK)|l1=Vote for the Girls}} | {{See also|Vote for the Girls (U.S.)|Vote for the Girls (UK)|l1=Vote for the Girls}} | ||
| − | {{Quote box|width=340px|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|align=right|quote='He carries himself with all the pomp and majesty of a medieval king who's fully aware that he knows quite a lot more about several things than most transmen. He's a readymade cult hero like Thomas Beatie before him, he'll no doubt get his own show within the next couple of years, and he single-handedly elevates the whole thing to a level it wouldn't otherwise deserve. It may not be the perfect internet show but, thanks mainly to Lai, ''Vote for the Girls'' can be horribly watchable entertainment'|source=TV critic credits Lai for Vote for the Girls' Male Moderator success}} Lai was one of the "Male Moderators" in the popular yet controversial web site ''[[Vote for the Girls (U.S.)|Vote for the Girls]]'', first broadcast in 2010 and hosted by [[Ava Zinn]]. In the show, his nickname was "The Tantrum Transman". He starred alongside fellow Male Moderators part of "Zinn's Villains" with [[Clark Jones]] (a.k.a. "The Dark Beast"), [[Archibald Coolranch]] (a.k.a. "The Devil Arch") and [[Lawrence Hedrick]] (a.k.a. "The | + | {{Quote box|width=340px|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|align=right|quote='He carries himself with all the pomp and majesty of a medieval king who's fully aware that he knows quite a lot more about several things than most transmen. He's a readymade cult hero like Thomas Beatie before him, he'll no doubt get his own show within the next couple of years, and he single-handedly elevates the whole thing to a level it wouldn't otherwise deserve. It may not be the perfect internet show but, thanks mainly to Lai, ''Vote for the Girls'' can be horribly watchable entertainment'|source=TV critic credits Lai for Vote for the Girls' Male Moderator success}} Lai was one of the "Male Moderators" in the popular yet controversial web site ''[[Vote for the Girls (U.S.)|Vote for the Girls]]'', first broadcast in 2010 and hosted by [[Ava Zinn]]. In the show, his nickname was "The Tantrum Transman". He starred alongside fellow Male Moderators part of "Zinn's Villains" with [[Clark Jones]] (a.k.a. "The Dark Beast"), [[Archibald Coolranch]] (a.k.a. "The Devil Arch") and [[Lawrence Hedrick]] (a.k.a. "The Della Terra"). |
Lai also appeared as the only male moderator on the [[Vote for the Girls (UK)|UK version]] of ''Vote for the Girls,'' also hosted by Zinn. | Lai also appeared as the only male moderator on the [[Vote for the Girls (UK)|UK version]] of ''Vote for the Girls,'' also hosted by Zinn. | ||
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His exhortations for Vote for the Girls villains became a Vote for the Girls tradition observed by his successor, [[Luka Runecraft]] (2016–present), and fellow Vote for the Girls villains Archibald Coolranch (2010-present), [[Clark Jones]] (2014-present), and [[Glenn Swaringen]] (2016-present). | His exhortations for Vote for the Girls villains became a Vote for the Girls tradition observed by his successor, [[Luka Runecraft]] (2016–present), and fellow Vote for the Girls villains Archibald Coolranch (2010-present), [[Clark Jones]] (2014-present), and [[Glenn Swaringen]] (2016-present). | ||
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==Gender transition and personal life== | ==Gender transition and personal life== | ||
In 1995, Lai began undergoing a physical and social [[wikipedia:gender transition|gender transition]]. He had a bilateral [[wikipedia:mastectomy|mastectomy]] with nipple grafts performed the beginning of May 1995 before beginning [[wikipedia:Hormone replacement therapy (female-to-male)|hormone therapy]] in June. In July 1995, an Indiana Court granted his request for a name change and he legally completed his transition in October 1995, when he had his gender officially changed on all of his legal documents including his birth certificate. Because he wanted to have biological children and sterilization was not a requirement to undergo a valid sex change anywhere in the United States, he kept his internal reproductive organs intact. | In 1995, Lai began undergoing a physical and social [[wikipedia:gender transition|gender transition]]. He had a bilateral [[wikipedia:mastectomy|mastectomy]] with nipple grafts performed the beginning of May 1995 before beginning [[wikipedia:Hormone replacement therapy (female-to-male)|hormone therapy]] in June. In July 1995, an Indiana Court granted his request for a name change and he legally completed his transition in October 1995, when he had his gender officially changed on all of his legal documents including his birth certificate. Because he wanted to have biological children and sterilization was not a requirement to undergo a valid sex change anywhere in the United States, he kept his internal reproductive organs intact. | ||
| − | Lai married then-son of long-time WVTH anchorman Jack McClannahan, Daniel McClanahan (now [[Danni McClannahan]]) in a legally (and proved controversial) same-sex marriage in Indiana on February 14, 1995. The couple resided in Terre Haute, Indiana, filed joint state and federal taxes and bought homes together as | + | Lai married then-son of long-time WVTH anchorman Jack McClannahan, Daniel McClanahan (now [[Danni McClannahan]]) in a legally (and proved controversial) same-sex marriage in Indiana on February 14, 1995. The couple resided in Terre Haute, Indiana, filed joint state and federal taxes and bought homes together as . Lai was also listed as "male" on his health and life insurance policies. As a man, he conceived and gave birth to all three of his children from 1996 to 1998. |
Leonard also underwent bottom surgery in the form of a [[wikipedia:hysterectomy|hysterectomy]] in 1999 and a [[wikipedia:metoidioplasty|metoidioplasty]] in 2000. | Leonard also underwent bottom surgery in the form of a [[wikipedia:hysterectomy|hysterectomy]] in 1999 and a [[wikipedia:metoidioplasty|metoidioplasty]] in 2000. | ||
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{{Leonard Lai}} | {{Leonard Lai}} | ||
{{Vote for the Girls USA}} | {{Vote for the Girls USA}} | ||
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