Noted reactionary Barry Humphries is still doing his best to ruin any warm memories you may have had of Dame Edna, and this week, he’s copping it for comments he made about transgender people in an interview with conservative publication The Spectator.
The 84-year-old, who is known for performing in drag as his popular character, was asked if he has ever drawn criticism from the trans community, and confronted with the statistic that 40% of trans people have attempted or considered suicide.
He responded by calling transgender activism “terrible rat-baggery” and “a fashion”, adding:
“… how many different kinds of lavatory can you have? And it’s pretty evil when it’s preached to children by crazy teachers.”
The entertainer’s comments drew a swift backlash, with many criticising him of being insensitive and out-of-touch with transgender people, who remain at very high risk for poor mental health and self-harm – in no small part thanks to shit like this, one would imagine.
It’s worth nothing that, in the interview in which he made these comments, they are framed in direct response to the statistic that over 40% of trans people have attempted or considered suicide. https://t.co/sfGEexFbwk
— Laurence Barber (@laurencesmb) July 20, 2018
https://twitter.com/BernardKeane/status/1020603167254482944
Uh uh. No Barry, you are a fashion, and you’re WAY out of style. https://t.co/3viOz56VII
— Zoë Coombs Marr (@zoecoombsmarr) July 20, 2018
It’s not the first time Barry Humphries has drawn criticism for comments relating to transgender people. In a 2016 interview with The Daily Telegraph, he lashed out in similar fashion in response to a question about Caitlyn Jenner, saying:
“Self-mutilation, what’s all this carry on? Caitlyn Jenner – what a publicity-seeking ratbag. It’s all given the stamp – not of respectability, but authenticity or something. If you criticise anything you’re racist or sexist or homophobic.”
Honestly, Bazza, if you think that wanting to be treated with respect and decency somehow makes transgender people “ratbags” or attention-seekers, then you’re definitely the one with the fucken problem. To sum it up:
Barry Humphries retire bitch
— Bec Shaw (@Brocklesnitch) July 20, 2018
