A 17-year-old non-binary girl was left furious after a Canadian mayor stepped in and halted their remarks during a Pride event.
Sophie Mills, who uses they/them pronouns, had been invited to speak to attendees at Cambridge’s Pride flag-raising ceremony at city hall on June 1, but their address was abruptly interrupted by the mayor while they were at the podium.
Mills began by telling the crowd they had experienced “many instances of exclusion,” along with “transphobia” and bullying from both classmates and adults.
They then pointed to one particular example, citing a Facebook post shared in January 2025 by Ward 6 Councilman Adam Cooper.
The now-deleted post featured a meme showing a blue-haired person screaming, surrounded by the caption: “He took my pronouns! I have to live in reality now!”
However, moments after Mills named Cooper, Mayor Jan Liggett rose from her seat and took the microphone away from the teenager.
“Sophie, I’m not going to allow you to continue. This is disrespect,” Liggett said into the microphone.
The mayor continued: “Can you remove that part from your speech please. [Cooper] has already gone through what he needs to go through and I don’t think it’s helpful.”
Sophie Mills, a 17-year-old non-binary girl, was interrupted by their city’s mayor after bringing up alleged transphobia they faced at the hands of a council member
Ward 6 Councilman Adam Cooper shared a controversial post (pictured) in January 2025
The controversial post was brought up at a council meeting, where it was decided that Cooper would undergo sensitivity training after he violated the council’s code of conduct.
Although the disruption immediately threw Mills off, they wrapped up the rest of their speech.
Mills’ mother, Julia Mills, then shared the video of her daughter speaking at the event, bashing the mayor for her response.
‘It takes incredible bravery to stand up in front of a group of people to speak. It takes even more bravery to do it when you are a 17-year old kid and you’re facing a crowd of adults,’ their mother wrote on Instagram.
‘Today, Sophie did just that. And they were silenced by a public servant who should have had the queer youth’s back,’ Julia stated, claiming that the mayor also ‘misgendered’ her daughter.
‘And Sophie politely corrected them. And the mayor responded “I don’t do that.” That was her response,’ the mother added.
Mills also shared a public response about the moment, where they stated that they decided to make the speech about Cooper after watching a city council meeting themself.
‘It was not an open or personal attack and it wasn’t demanding council change their decision. It was a statement of how I felt about the situation. If Mayor Jan Liggett had let me continue, she would know that.
Mills’ mother, Julia Mills (right), then shared the video of her daughter (left) speaking at the event, bashing the mayor for her response
‘My speech did not cause division. It was addressing the division that already existed.
‘Mayor Jan Liggett’s response centered herself in the conversation, instead of addressing the effect her actions had on me and the rest of the community. It also felt like she was blaming me, the child in the situation, instead of taking any accountability for her actions,’ Mills continued.
Mayor Liggett later shared a video doubling down on her reaction to Mills speech that day.
‘My actions were not about silencing anyone, but of refocusing.
‘They were about protecting the integrity of an event that was intended to unite rather than divide. We live in a time when outrage often receives more attention than understanding,’ she said, in part.
