British comedian John Cleese has been accused of being transphobic after coming out in support of Harry Potter writer J.K. Rowling.
The 81-year-old Monty Python star was attacked online after signing a letter defending Rowling amid a huge backlash over her views on transgender issues.
“Deep down, I want to be a Cambodian police woman. Is that allowed, or am I being unrealistic?” he replied to someone who asked why he couldn’t “just let people be who they want to be.”
Asked whether he accepted that Rowling made “some rather indelicate statements regarding those people who identify differently,” Cleese quipped, “That depends who I identify with today…”.
That depends who I identify with today... https://t.co/TXKLbPlPyR
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) November 22, 2020
“I’m afraid I’m not that interested in trans folks,” he admitted. “I just hope they’re happy and that people treat them kindly,” he wrote.
I'm afraid I'm not that interested in trans folks
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) November 22, 2020
I just hope they're happy and that people treat them kindly
Right now I'm more focussed on threats to democracy in America, the rampant corruption in the UK, the appalling British Press, the revelations about police brutality... https://t.co/y6l33FBQNL
Cleese added that critics showed a “complete lack of perspective” as well as a “complete lack of a sense of humor,” asking, “Heard a woke joke yet?”.
Cleese later admitted his “understanding is superficial,” but wrote, “When a woman who was once a man is competing against women who have always been women, I think she has an advantage, because she inherited a man’s body, which is usually bigger and stronger than a woman’s."
Yes, my understanding is superficial
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) November 22, 2020
One thing: When a woman who was once a man is competing against women who have always been women, I think she has an advantage, because she inherited a man's body, which is usually bigger and stronger than a woman's
Does that prove phobia? https://t.co/8x2H9zvstd
“Does that prove phobia?” he asked his critics.
Cleese’s comments sparked a backlash on Twitter.
“Damn. Really wasn’t expecting someone as talented and amazing as John Cleese to be anti-trans,” author Adam Tierney wrote with a sad-face emoji.
Damn. Really wasn’t expecting someone as talented and amazing as John Cleese to be anti-trans. ☹️
— Adam Tierney (@adamctierney) November 22, 2020
“Dude … John Cleese being Transphobic was not something I saw coming and I am thoroughly disappointed by it,” one follower wrote, while trans author Lilah Sturges said he was “transphobic in a way that attempts and fails to be funny.”
“This is an ex-comedian,” Sturges wrote.
It makes me doubly sad to see John Cleese, whose comedy I absolutely idolized as a young person, not just be transphobic but be transphobic in a way that attempts and fails to be funny. This is an ex-comedian.
— Lilah Sturges (@LilahSturges) November 22, 2020
