Chloe Cole Testifies She Makes Up To $200,000 Opposing Trans Care
The detransitioner, who has been a vocal proponent of anti-trans laws and policies internationally, revealed in an Ohio court hearing that she makes significant income over her detransition.
According to new and explosive reporting by the Los Angeles Times, advocating against transgender people has become a lucrative business for prominent political detransitioner Chloe Cole. A newly released audio recording reveals that Cole earns upwards of $200,000 for opposing transgender care, primarily through speaking engagements, donations via Donorbox, and her employment with the far-right organization Do No Harm, which facilitates her access to opportunities to testify.
The recording, which comes from Chloe Cole’s testimony during a court hearing in Ohio regarding the state's gender-affirming care ban, features Cole discussing her income and funding (with cleaner, trimmed audio also provided by Civil Rights Attorney Alejandra Caraballo):
Attorney: “You don’t have any first-hand knowledge of how gender affirming care is provided in Ohio, is that right?”
Cole: “No, not from personal experience.”
Attorney: “I understand you’re employed as a senior fellow at Do No Harm?”
Cole: “Yes”
Attorney: “And Do No Harm’s mission is to fight against the current model of care in place for gender dysphoria, is that right?”
Cole: “Yes…”
Attorney: “And you submitted testimony in support of HB68 as part of your job in Do No Harm, is that right?”
Cole: “Yes”
Attorney: “And Do No Harm has helped you find other opportunities to testify in state legislatures, is that right?”
Cole: “Yes”
Attorney: “Do No Harm paid you $2,000 a month for that work, is that right?”
Cole: “Yes”
Attorney: “And you make between $50-$100,000 in speaking fees in [unclear] is that right?”
Cole: “Yes”
Cole later added that she additionally makes up to $100,000 in donations through her Donorbox, separate from the income she earns from speaking engagements.
Chloe Cole has been a prominent political detransitioner. According to the LA Times, “her reach is wide,” including testimony before Congress and an invitation to be Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s special guest at the State of the Union address. She has appeared in documentaries and interviews across the world, including Australia and the United Kingdom. She even appeared on far-right mega-influencer Jordan Peterson’s show.
Cole is not the only one paid large amounts of money to oppose transgender care. The organization that employs her, Do No Harm, received at least $1 million from hedge fund billionaire Joseph Edelman. In an investigation into the funding of anti-trans organizations, the Huffington Post uncovered that Edelman had also given large donations to groups like the Manhattan Institute and Parents Defending Education. Both organizations have been influential in shaping anti-transgender policies in red states.
Though Cole has been a primary source for how the media understands transition and detransition, potentially due to the significant funding and influence from wealthy benefactors and influential conservative figures, her story is an outlier. In 2022, a study showed that transgender youth remained stable in their gender identity five years after social transition, with only 2.5% returning to identifying as cisgender. A review of over 50 studies by Cornell University determined that detransition rates are likely between 0.7% and 3.8%. Even in the recent Cass Review, only 10 out of 3,000 youth who were either receiving gender-affirming care or on waitlists to do so had detransitioned by the time they reached adult care.
Even among detransitioners, Cole’s story is uncommon. According to a 2015 survey, most detransitioners did not choose to do so because they "were not actually trans." Instead, they cited several external factors, such as job loss, reduced income, lack of family support, and a worsening political climate. Importantly, 62% of those who detransitioned eventually chose to retransition.
One detransitioner, who was among 19 who testified that their detransition should not be used to ban gender-affirming care, reacted to the news of Cole’s income by stating, “I'm 1 of the 19 detrans people who testified against the GAC for minors ban in Ohio last year, but I couldn't be there in person because I didn't have the money for transportation & hotel stay. I couldn't afford to take time off work. Not once was I ever asked for an interview or do a paid & unpaid speaking gig. My story isn't even in the mainstream public news.”
Despite this, Cole’s story remains one of the most commonly cited narratives in discussions about transition, detransition, and gender-affirming care—a narrative that has been well-funded and curated for use by Republicans to justify more anti-transgender laws.
Why can’t we make $200,000 supporting actual science, which helps people thrive? Why is it ONLY lucrative to destroy lives like Cole does?
Maybe Cole's loyalty can be bought, but for most of us, it can't. Our liberty is far more important than easy money.