Graham Linehan

Graham Linehan (Glinner on Twitter and other social media) is an Irish comedy writer, self-styled feminist and transphobic bigot. As a comedy writer he is co-responsible for the sitcoms Father Ted (1995-98), Black Books (2000-2004), and The IT Crowd (2006-2013), as well as writing sketches and routines for other shows.Graham Linehan, IMDb Father Ted in particular, which he co-wrote with Arthur Mathews, is hailed as one of the highlights of Irish or British comedy (it was made for British company Channel 4 predominantly by Irish talent).Father Ted’s legacy, 20 years on: up with this sort of thing, Andrew Harrison, The Guardian, 20 April 2015
Linehan is a prolific Twitter user, and in recent years focused his energy on attacking trans people and being a general TERF. He opposed the pro-trans charity Mermaids in a rather transphobic post on Mumsnet (a parenting website known for rabid transphobia), and was called out for this by Hbomberguy in the latter's famous marathon charity livestream to raise money for Mermaids, which raised over $340,000.Gamer Hbomberguy hands funding row charity Donkey Kong boost, BBC, 22 January 2019 
On June 27 2020, Graham Linehan was permanently banned from Twitter, due to violating several of their hateful conduct policies.Independent. (June 27, 2020). . Independent. Retrieved June 27, 2020. That permanent ban turned out to be less than permanent; it was lifted after Elon Musk acquired the platform.Henry Giardina (December 23, 2022). "Infamous Transphobe Graham Linehan Has Been Unbanned From Twitter, and Nobody's Happy About It". INTO. On March 9, 2021, he announced that his anti-trans activism had caused "such a strain that my wife and I finally agreed to separate".https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/5236fc59-47ae-41c9-93f7-4ea16b5782c3
==Twitter policeman==
Linehan was prominent in the early 2010s on Twitter and was actively involved in campaigns on progressive issues, opposing Brexit and the misogynistic trolls of GamerGate.A Look at the Conduct of Graham Linehan and Others on Twitter, Richard H Cooper, May 2012 However he also took the point of view that being a famous internet celebrity means you should defend other internet celebrities facing criticism. When tiresome right-wing journalist Giles Coren responded to a mild criticism by a Twitter user with the message "Go fuck yourself, you barren old hag", Linehan defended Coren's misogynistic response.
The editor of British comedy website Cook'd and Bomb'd (C&B) has criticised celebrities including Linehan and fellow British celebrity transphobe Ricky Gervais, for aggressive behaviour on social media. Cookd and Bombd popularised the epithet "Twitter policeman" for Linehan, referring to his desire to lay down standards of right and wrong. Neil C&B said, "it now seems that many celebrities – like afore-mentioned Twitter policeman Graham Linehan – simply place themselves above any kind of criticism. This accounts for the devaluing of the term 'troll' in the wider media – the phrase was originally coined to refer to people who post inflammatory messages in order to sidetrack discussion, and generate negative attention. Now, it frequently seems to mean 'anyone with the chutzpah to publicly disagree with a celebrity or media figure.'"Comedians using their fans for co-ordinated, safety-in-numbers bullying, Neil, Cook'd and Bomb'd Comedy Chat, 5 Sep 2012, now on archive.org
There was some self-awareness of his unpopularity in his use of the name "Beloved Internet Personality" on Twitter.
==Transphobia==
In recent years the focus of his internet outrage has moved on from people disagreeing with celebrities to anything involving trans rights and the idea that trans women are women. On Dec 16, 2016 he got involved in a row over a National Geographic cover story about trans people, which seems to have been when the shit really hit the fan.It’s Time to Call Out Graham Linehan’s Ugly Transphobia, Alexa Ephemera, Medium, Dec 22, 2016 According to the Irish Times, Glinner accepts that gender dysphoria is real but "has a problem with widening the definition of transgender" and opposes self-identification (where people get to decide they are transgender without needing a doctor to diagnose it as a clinical condition) and "early diagnosis" of trans or gender non-conforming children. While he sympathises with trans people and believes that they need medical care (something many of them would disagree with), he has a problem with the idea that trans women are women. He claims to oppose "privileged white people saying you must accept anyone who says they are a woman", although evidently it's ok if a privileged white man lectures on who is and isn't a woman.Graham Linehan: Trans activists ‘don’t realise the damage’ they do, Deirdre Falvey, Irish Times, Jan 21, 2019
It has been suggested (including by the Irish Times) that this antipathy to trans people flared from a somewhat transphobic 2008 episode of sitcom The IT Crowd, which attracted criticism and led to Linehan becoming interested in the subject of trans people. Alexa Ephemera summarises it:
Initially Linehan defended it saying that the character was transphobic but the episode was not."@roseofwinter A transphobic character is not a transphobic episode. Learn the difference!" by Glinner (3:36 PM, 24 Dec 2013) Twitter (archived from July 2, 2019).
However this ignores the fact that the episode offers a ridiculous caricature of a trans woman far beyond what one transphobic (and generally unpleasant) character says about her. Even as recently as 2008 there was not the same awareness that trans women are women deserving of basic human dignity, and there's a long tradition especially in British comedy of female characters played by men for comedic effect, but Glinner's defence is both inaccurate and insulting to trans people, and rather than apologise he insulted his critics (many of whom were trans or cis women).
He has focused quite heavily on children being rushed into gender realignment and the use of hormone blockers which prevent puberty. This has occasionally been controversial, with concern that clinics are not devoting enough time to evaluating children, but the consensus is that most services are too slow in providing care to children who are often depressed or suicidal, rather than rushing into life-altering decisions.Gender identity clinic accused of fast-tracking young adults, The Guardian, 3 Nov 2018 However he has gone well beyond concerns over children, criticising adult trans rights campaigners and their demands for self-identification.
He is opposed to the term "TERF", which he considers misogynistic."don't use misogynistic terms like terf please" by Glinner, (5:05 AM, 21 Dec 2016) Twitter (archived from July 2, 2019). It's not clear why a term mostly used by women in defence of other women would be misogynistic, but Glinner knows best.
He changed his Twitter handle to Magdalen Berns Forever in 2019 in response to the TERF activist and self-styled transphobe's terminal illness and death."Magdalen Berns Forever", Glinner (Graham Linehan), Twitter profile page, Twitter, accessed 23 September 2019JK Rowling criticised for following a "famous transphobe" on Twitter, The Independent, 25 Jun 2019 He has hounded a number of comedians off Twitter when they failed to endorse his position opposing trans rights, including and "Speaking of which, did you ever decide whether you agree with the dictionary definition of ‘woman’, Robin? Fairly simple question to answer, I would have thought.", Glinner (Graham Linehan), Replying to @robinince, Twitter, 27 Mar 2019The funniest example was when Robin Ince LEFT TWITTER rather than say whether he agreed with the dictionary definition of ‘woman’., Glinner (Graham Linehan), Twitter, 26 Mar 2019Graham Linehan has now hounded Cariad Lloyd and Robin Ince off Twitter. But sure, let’s not say anything. Ah, you won’t, you won’t, you won’t., Michael Legge, Twitter, Mar 28, 2019 He also called TV presenter and journalist Jon Ronson "pathetic" for similar reasons.Jon, I stood up for you at a Norwich event where you got antisemitic abuse, to such an extent that the person in question followed me out onto the street afterwards, shouting at me, and you don’t even have the guts to stand up for me when I’m defending women. You’re pathetic., Glinner (Graham Linehan), Twitter, 27 May 2019
===Downward spiral of life and career===
Linehan's unhealthy fixation with trans people and constant use of TwitterSorry! I am on a break, but this was too hilarious not to post., Glinner (Graham Linehan), Twitter, 24 September 2019. had evidently affected his personal life for the worst, with even the people closest to Linehan becoming alienated by his fanaticism before cutting off all contact with him entirely. On Jan 31, 2020, comedian Frankie Boyle tweeted: "I've already told you. I'm going to have to block you. I think you're neurotically obsessed with some stuff that is doing you no good/ worry you have some kind of internet addiction. All the best with it."I've already told you. I'm going to have to block you. I think you're neurotically obsessed with some stuff that is doing you no good/ worry you have some kind of internet addiction. All the best with it., Frankie Boyle, 31 Jan 2020 Adding to this, James Serafinowicz (Linehan's ex-brother-in-law) has been publicly distancing himself from Linehan, as well as stating that his sister (Linehan's ex-wife) does not share his viewsTweet by James Serafinowicz, 26 Feb 2020, and has (in a now deleted tweet) stated that his extreme views and monomaniacal obsession with transphobic "activism" are causing his family to disassociate from him. Adding some credence to this, his ex-wife has also reverted back to using her maiden name of Serafinowicz online; un-sourced rumours floated around that they have divorced, and Linehan eventually confirmed their separation in 2021.https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/5236fc59-47ae-41c9-93f7-4ea16b5782c3 
Due to the controversy associated with his widely publicized anti-trans views, individuals and cultural institutions that had collaborated with Linehan in the past have also begun canceling any new project involving his work and have started to distance themselves from him as well, leading to Linehan's career as a comedy writer to become almost non-existent. One notable example of this is when in May 2022, Hat Trick Productions had informed Linehan that its plans for a musical based on his Father Ted had been scrapped while he's involved, with Linehan later lashing out during a BBC interview to breathlessly claim that the show's producers had been "rolled over" by the "trans lobby".https://www.thepinknews.com/2022/05/27/graham-linehan-father-ted-musical-trans/
===Police warning===
In October 2018 he received a verbal warning from West Yorkshire police for harassing trans activist Stephanie Hayden on Twitter, and a ban on contacting her in future. He doxxed her, tweeting her previous names and old pictures, as well as repeatedly using the pronoun "he" to refer to her. In his defence he claimed that he was retaliating after she published the address of his wife's business, and he didn't want to contact her anyway.Graham Linehan given police warning after complaint by transgender activist, The Guardian, 7 Oct 2018
===Mermaids===
He got very angry at trans children's charity Mermaids on the internet forum Mumsnet (he's not actually a mum, but maybe he identifies as one?), opposing Mermaids receiving funding from the UK National Lottery's Big Lottery Fund. Mermaids provides a range of services for to support trans and gender non-conforming children and their families, but as a result of complaints from Linehan and others on Mumsnet, the Lottery suspended planned funding and launched an inquiry. Mumsnet later deleted the thread. In response, Hbomberguy set up a charity fundraiser Twitch livestream where he played Donkey Kong 64, chatted with various trans supportive people ranging from Contrapoints, to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and raised $340,000 (£265,000).Campaigning to halt Big Lottery funding for trans support charity Mermaids isn’t noble – it’ll directly harm children, Aaron Hughes, The Independent, 18 December 2018Big Lottery Fund reviews grant to trans kids charity Mermaids, Pink News, 17 Dec 2018 Hbomberguy wrote:
Linehan responded by posting on Twitter about how awful Hbomberguy and his guests were, telling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, "You really need to do more research on these things"."You really need to do more research on these things" by Glinner (9:40 PM - 20 Jan 2019) Twitter (archived from July 3, 2019).
As a result of laying into Mermaids and being called out by Hbomberguy, he also has the distinction of being condemned for transphobia in the Scottish Parliament, in a resolution put forward by Patrick Harvey of the Scottish Green Party. The motion praised Harry Brewis (HbomberGuy) and trans children's charity Mermaids and criticised Glinner's attempt to remove funding from the charity. The motion noted that Mermaids "was chosen by Harry following pressure from a well-known television and comedy writer to have a planned lottery grant removed from the charity".Motion S5M-15504: Patrick Harvie, Glasgow, Scottish Green Party, Date Lodged: 21/01/2019: Online Gamer, Harry Brewis, Fundraising for Mermaids UK, Scottish Parliament website
===Glindr/Substack===
Linehan set up his own TERF social network as a ‘competitor’ to Twitter, called Glindr. He says this was important because Twitter is moderated by "women hating incels".Glindr Launch As of April 2023, nobody (not even Linehan) had posted on Glindr since November 2022. Yet the service eerily remains online anyway.
When Twitter permanently banned him in June 2020, he switched to using Glindr, before turning to blogging site Substack, where he posts his thoughts about screengrabs of tweets. Blog comments are restricted to those who have paid Linehan for a £89.99 £49.99 £40.00 £30.00 yearly subscription to his blog.
===Conversion therapy===
Not content with sending his mob of TERFs to bully a different person offline for each day of the week, and failing to take money from a charity for children, Linehan is now trying to compile a database of 'gender critical' Irish therapists to perform conversion therapy on young trans people - something that is illegal in Ireland.https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/02/04/graham-linehan-database-gender-critical-gay-conversion-therapy-twitter-ban-anti-trans/ Linehan might be seeing a bit more than a police warning if he tries to continue pursuing the award for "worst comedy writer currently alive".
===Invading women's spaces===
In some sort of misguided attempt to try to spread his transphobic belief that men will pretend to be trans to invade women's spaces, he set up an account on Her, a dating website exclusively for women and queer people. He also doxxed multiple trans people on the platform, saying they should be removed for "not being women".Patrick Kelleher, Graham Linehan joined a queer women’s dating app to share trans people’s profiles. It backfired, badly, PinkNews 21 Feb. 2021 Ironically, he only ended up proving his opponents' points when he was kicked out of the platform for not being trans.Dominic Whitlock,Her Defends Trans Women After Male Writer Joins Platform, GlobalDatingInsights 24 Feb. 2021 Linehan complained to UK newspaper industry regulator IPSO after The Metro wrote an article on this which claimed Linehan was "known for his anti-trans rhetoric"; IPSO found that this was accurate and also agreed with The Metro's claim that Linehan had joined Her at least partly "to mock transgender women".01958-21 Linehan v metro.co.uk, Independent Press Standards Organisation (UK), 21 June 2021
==Misogyny==
Linehan often justifies his bigotry against trans people by claiming to be a male "feminist" and that his actions are done in the service for gender equality, to the extent of having a blog at glinner.co.uk titled "Women Are Important".Women are Important, Graham Linehan, accessed 1 July 2019 Upon closer examination, however, it becomes clear that Linehan actually just feigns interest in feminism and other issues relating to woman's rights in order to give his transphobia a veneer of progressivism. For example, he is responsible for a lot of rather misogynistic comments directed towards female public figures that he dislikes or disagrees with, such as scolding American country singer for having plastic surgery work done on her, with Linehan commenting, "Riiight. And how about the fact that she's completely fucked up her face?""Riiight. And how about the fact that she's completely fucked up her face?" by Glinner (29 Jun 2014) Twitter (archived from July 3, 2019). and "Amazing how many supposed feminists are OK with women mutilating themselves in order to meet some utterly fucked up beauty standard. #parton"Amazing how many supposed feminists are OK with women mutilating themselves in order to meet some utterly fucked up beauty standard. #parton by Glinner (29 Jun 2014) Twitter (archived from July 3 2019). This demonstrates his tendency to divide women up into good and bad (madonna-whore dichotomy) only extend his feminism to the former.
Despite repeatedly insisting men should refrain from opinion that might amount to dictating the terms of feminist issues"I agree! But as the *far* more privileged group, I think men should listen to women.", Graham Linehan, Twitter, 17 Oct 2018"well, let me phrase it a different way. If a bunch of lesbians have a different experience with trans activists to that of a heterosexual middle class man, maybe that man should listen to the lesbians instead of saying who does and doesn't belong at Pride?", Graham Linehan, Twitter, 17 July 2018 (often as a rebuttal to cis men who question trans exclusionism), he has in the past belittled women-fronted causes that don’t meet his personal standards of worthiness. He once mocked discussion over the extent to which the marketing of feminine hygiene products perpetuate misogynist female grooming taboos, scoffing “"Pouring shame on body parts?" If there was a special soap for cleaning my penis, I'd be all over that shit. I would never go out again”.'"Pouring shame on body parts?" If there was a special soap for cleaning my penis, I'd be all over that shit. I would never go out again.', Graham Linehan, Twitter, 23 Jun 2012 When comedian and author Shappi Khorsandi endorsed Let Toys Be Toys, a campaign group promoting non-gendered marketing of toys, he sarcastically sneered “Hugely important issue. Nothing more important going on right now. Great use of energy.”"Hugely important issue. Nothing more important going on right now. Great use of energy.", Graham Linehan, Twitter, 26 Oct 2016 This is doubly-hypocritical as he often couches his transphobia as gender critical thought, in a manner suggesting he has always cared about this cause.
Since 2019 Linehan's social media avatar has been a cartoon of himself as knight on a white horse, with the cross-and-circle female icon on his shield.https://blog.ninapaley.com/2019/06/13/graham-linehans-new-avatar/
===Attacking women===
Unsurprisingly then, this patriarchal attitude often spills over to his attacks on trans people, where he throws abuse at any cis women who defend trans women. In response to Anita Sarkeesian stating that feminism is supportive of trans people, workers' rights, BLM, and abortion rights, Linehan stated: "What is this male-pandering shite? I didn't support you during gamergate so you could give women's rights away to another group of men."Graham Linehan (May 7, 2020). "What is this male-pandering shite? I didn't support you during gamergate so you could give women's rights away to another group of men." Twitter, via the Wayback Machine. He called the Women's March London "Traitors" for calling themselves "trans inclusive and intersectional"."Traitors", Glinner, Twitter, 3:15PM 20 Jan 2019, archived at https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DxaZbs5UYAEObHP.jpg
He also refers to women who support trans rights or otherwise oppose him as mindless "handmaidens"."Polling results so far! Nearly 5000 people think there is a problem, while over 13,000 woke blokes/handmaidens/incels think everything is just fine." by Glinner (11:54 PM - 23 Jan 2019) Twitter (archived from January 25, 2019)."Yep. Woke blokes and handmaidens instead of priests and nuns." by Glinner (12:56 AM - 23 Jan 2019) Twitter (archived from July 3, 2019). Linehan attacked award winning feminist journalist Mona Eltahawy, for being trans-supportive. The absurdity of a white, straight, cis male telling a bisexual Egyptian-American woman (who has literally had her arms broken in defence of women’s rights) that she’s ‘bending the knee to men’ for supporting trans women was apparently lost on him.Mona Eltahawy responds to Graham Linehan He also attacked comedian Josie Long over her views on trans people, leading to Long temporarily deleting her Twitter account to avoid the torrents of abuse.Can comedy survive in an age of outrage?, Miranda Sawyer, The Guardian, 28 July 2019 Cariad Lloyd got the same treatment for making a period joke. Cariad Lloyd also deactivated her Twitter account for a time, after anti-trans trolls attacked her for using inclusive language when talking about periods.
Furthermore, Linehan frequently accuses cisgender women of being men. https://web.archive.org/web/20230422213459/https://twitter.com/glinner/status/1643176335332851712 In a similar incident, he accused Olympic athlete of being "a man", stating: "He has XY chromosomes. that's what makes him a man, nothing else."Graham Linehan (August 4, 2024). "He has XY chromosomes. that's what makes him a man, nothing else. Are you hoping to see a woman killed on live TV?". Twitter, via archive.today. Though it was alleged that Khelif was intersex, the circumstances of this allegation were extremely doubtful,Karolos Grohmann (August 5, 2024). "IBA gender tests on two boxers were flawed and illegitimate, says IOC". Reuters.Emma Guinness (August 2, 2024). "Liz Truss, Musk and JK Rowling weigh in on Olympic boxing controversy to spread false anti-trans rhetoric". The Independent.Les Carpenter (August 1, 2024). "Olympic woman boxer who faced gender-eligibility claim wins, igniting outcry". The Washington Post. Quote: "The IOC, which is overseeing the boxing competition in Paris, does not test for gender, and there never has been evidence that either Khelif or Lin had XY chromosomes or elevated levels of testosterone. They have competed for years, including at the Tokyo Olympics and several world championships."Greg Beacham (August 3, 2024). "Banned governing body that’s fueling outcry on Olympic boxers has Russian ties and troubled history". The Associated Press.Sean Gregory (August 5, 2024). "The IBA Held a Press Conference About Boxing’s Gender Controversy. It Was a Chaotic Mess". TIME. and this would not have made her a man in any case.Emma Guinness (August 2, 2024). "Inside the tough childhood of Olympic boxer Imane Khelif as she faces groundless accusations of being male". The Independent. (Ironically, if XY chromosomes were all that made one a man, this would mean Linehan agrees that pregnant men exist due to the existence of "Swyer syndrome". MedlinePlus. Quote: "Women with Swyer syndrome do not produce eggs (ova), but if they have a uterus, they may be able to become pregnant with a donated egg or embryo." a concept he elsewhere mocks.Graham Linehan (June 3, 2023). "Men can't get pregnant, 'Doctor' Webberley." Twitter, via archive.today.)
Blogger and ex-prostitute Brooke Magnanti (Belle de Jour) accused him of "whorephobia" (a hatred or fear of prostitutes),This makes Linehan a potential SWERF 'n' TERF. tweeting "Also whorephobia. My Linehan brush was he kept tweeting how much he liked to wank to my writing (eww), so when I asked him to read a sitcom pilot I was working on, he freaked tf out and implied I was trying to destroy his marriage or something."Also whorephobia. My Linehan brush was he kept tweeting how much he liked to wank to my writing (eww), so when I asked him to read a sitcom pilot I was working on, he freaked tf out and implied I was trying to destroy his marriage or something. by belledejour_uk (Brooke Magnanti) (12:49 PM - 1 Jun 2018) Twitter (archived from January 26, 2019).
His possible nadir was when a woman (and sexual assault survivor) asked him to stop calling women ‘females’ and pointed out that she had been assaulted by men, not trans women. He responded that “it’s not all about you.”https://twitter.com/TheOnlySprout/status/1205920537010040832/photo/1 Because nothing says feminism like talking over a rape victim with abuser rhetoric. Similarly, he appeared to downplay a lesbian who told him of her experience with being raped by another cis woman. He responded to her: "I'm very sorry that happened to you, Amy, that's terrible. It has nothing to do with the fact that men *as a class* rape women *as a class* and I don't know why you would pretend it does. I'm not sure anyone who would blind you to that fact is a 'friend'."Graham Linehan (April 13, 2020). "I'm very sorry that happened to you, Amy, that's terrible. It has nothing to do with the fact that men *as a class* rape women *as a class* and I don't know why you would pretend it does. I'm not sure anyone who would blind you to that fact is a 'friend'." Twitter, via the Wayback Machine. This was in reference to the idea of "sex classes",Graham Linehan (April 15, 2020). "so there are no sex classes? this is hysterical. Hey @FondOfBeetles you'll enjoy this one". Twitter, via the Wayback Machine. and his conception of it is a vulgarization of ~1960s–1970s radical feminist class theory, which proposed "sex class" is an oppressive social construct. It was not intended as a rhetorical bludgeon against people who were raped by a woman.
==Other insanity==
===Promotion of pseudoscience===
By September 2022, Linehan had also begun questioning COVID-19 vaccines and the science behind global warming "because I’ve been lied to so conclusively by all the people I used to trust".
===Racism===
In August 2024, he saw a post highlighting "Catholics and Protestants … marching shoulder to shoulder in Belfast, Northern Ireland as they demand an end to Mass Immigration." Linehan reacted: "I never thought I would live to see something so extraordinary. Elites and their lickspittles better stop ignoring people because this is what history looks like. Stop ignoring and demonising the white working class."Graham Linehan (August 3, 2024). "I never thought I would live to see something so extraordinary. Elites and their lickspittles better stop ignoring people because this is what history looks like. Stop ignoring and demonising the white working class. They have as many rights as Stewart Lee or Owen Jones." Twitter, via archive.today. (Second archive). (Original link). This was amidst an outburst of racist violence across the United Kingdom,Thomas Mackintosh and Lucy Clarke-Billings (August 5, 2024). "No 10 to hold emergency Cobra meeting after weekend of violence". BBC News. including Northern Ireland,Christopher Leebody (August 5, 2024). "Calls for people to 'stay away' amid reports of further far-right Belfast protests". The Belfast Telegraph. with assaults by far-right mobs against people for simply being non-white.Nadine White (August 5, 2024). "Street beatings, stabbing and mosques under siege: the horrifying racist attacks carried out by far-right mobs". The Independent.Jeremy Armstrong and Ryan Carroll (August 4, 2024). "Far-right thugs throw rocks at Filipino NHS nurses on way to work". Daily Record.Anders Anglesey (August 4, 2024). "Middlesbrough rioters stop traffic to check if drivers are 'white' in shocking footage". Daily Mirror.
===Russell T Davies===
On 26 April 2024, Linehan used Twitter to respond to comments made by A tweet quoted Davies, the original showrunner and head writer of from 2005 to 2010, saying his incarnations of "weren’t exactly the straightest men in the past" and that their personalities chimed "with queer energy". Linehan responded to these comments by quote tweeting the tweet in which they were posted and saying "Fuck off, you sweaty groomer." Linehan has historically made many similar comments about Davies in the past. Since Davies is openly (very) gay, several people said calling Davies a groomer was homophobic. It was also pointed out that his comments had much in common with Laurence Fox's recent libel case, in which Fox had to pay £180,000 in damages to two people after calling them "paedophiles" in what the judge said was "distinctively homophobic" libel. Around 8 hours and 200,000 views later, Linehan deleted the tweet, presumably after realising he was libelling Davies.
However, he still doubled down, posting a new tweet at around the same time he deleted his first one, in which he said "When Russell T Davies promotes queer theory in a children's TV program, he is engaging in ideological grooming. This is queer theory." Thereafter, Linehan links to a YouTube clip of a lecture (nothing to do with Davies) about paedophilia being a foundational part of "queer theory". This isn't legal advice Graham, but that's not much of an improvement. He then tripled down, saying he deleted his original tweet because he "realised he's [Davies is] not actually that sweaty" when another user suggested he had because Davies is not, in fact, a groomer. Masterful gambit, sir.
He also repeatedly tweeted out a screenshot taken from this article by the Royal Television Society discussing troubling sex between an adult and a child in , which Davies created, seemingly to try to substantiate that Davies is a groomer (another genius legal move). It did genuinely generate controversy, however the plot point has been praised for providing authenticity given that similar relationships were fairly common at that time. Furthermore, a fictional TV show, and its creators, don't necessarily endorse everything the show depicts. Consider the results of applying this same logic to , , or even, dare it be said, , which depicts racism. He continued with various weird attempts to attack Davies and paint him as "a groomer" on 28 April.
==See also==
*Trans-exclusionary radical feminism
*Transmisogyny
*Transphobia
*Mumsnet
*Hbomberguy - Glinner's antipode on trans rights.
*The Critic
==External links==
* Beloved Internet Personality on Twitter, account suspended unsuspended suspendedHarriet Williamson (April 16, 2023). "Anti-trans mouthpiece Graham Linehan suspended from Twitter … again". PinkNews. unsuspended
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Comedians
Category:Clogosphere
Category:Crank magnetism
Category:COVID-19 denialists
Category:Doxers
Category:Global warming denialists
Category:Internet kooks
Category:Ireland
Category:Leftists who turned right with age
Category:Living people
Category:Pseudoscience promoters
Category:Purity culture
Category:Sexists
Category:TERFs
Category:Trolls