Latest news with #GrahamLinehan
Belfast Telegraph
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Andrew Doyle: ‘Graham Linehan's living proof of cancel culture'
Derry writer and commentator Andrew Doyle talks about his new book, The End of Woke, why old-fashioned liberalism needs to make a comeback, and writing a sitcom with Graham Linehan 'I've seen people getting very, very angry about the cancellation of Kneecap,' says Andrew Doyle, the Derry-born writer, political commentator and satirist. 'These are the same people who have called for similar cancellations of others. 'And I'd like to think they would realise that they've sowed the seeds of that by pushing for cancellations when they don't approve [of something] — or whatever it might be. But I'm not sure they've really grasped the hypocrisy.'
Belfast Telegraph
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Andrew Doyle: ‘If you support freedom of speech, you have to support people's right to say the things you don't much want to hear'
Derry writer and commentator Andrew Doyle talks about his new book, The End of Woke, why old-fashioned liberalism needs to make a comeback, and writing a sitcom with Graham Linehan 'I've seen people getting very, very angry about the cancellation of Kneecap,' says Andrew Doyle, the Derry-born writer, political commentator and satirist. 'These are the same people who have called for similar cancellations of others. 'And I'd like to think they would realise that they've sowed the seeds of that by pushing for cancellations when they don't approve [of something] — or whatever it might be. But I'm not sure they've really grasped the hypocrisy.'
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Father Ted and trans rights critic Graham Linehan pleads not guilty to harassing and smashing phone belonging to a transgender woman
Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has pleaded not guilty to harassing a transgender woman and damaging her phone. The Irish comedy writer, 56, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court today to deny the charges of harassing Sophia Brooks on social media and damaging her mobile in October. The Bafta-winning writer, who also came up with TV sitcoms The IT Crowd and Black Books, has become a vocal critic of the trans rights movement in recent years. Linehan, who created Father Ted in the 1990s with fellow Irish writer Arthur Mathews, said in a post on X in April that the allegations were related to an incident at the Battle of Ideas conference in London on October 19. Court documents show Linehan is charged with harassing the alleged victim by posting abusive comments about her on social media between October 11 and October 27, and damaging her phone to the value of £369 on the day of the conference. The 56-year-old, who once dubbed himself 'the most hated man on the internet', told how jobs 'fell away' when he became embroiled in the transgender debate. He was banned in 2020 from Twitter after writing 'Men aren't women tho' before later being reinstated by X founder Elon Musk. A long-awaited Father Ted musical was then axed in 2022 because of the 56-year-old's controversial political opinions. When two venues cancelled his 2023 Edinburgh Fringe shows, the now-divorced Linehan opted to perform his set outside the Scottish Parliament. The 56-year-old sat in seats in front of the dock wearing glasses, a white shirt, grey suit jacket and grey jeans, and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and to deny the charges. Some supporters of the defendant were turned away from the court because of a shortage of seats. Deputy District Judge Louise Balmain told Linehan his trial would take place on September 4 this year at the same court. He was freed on bail with the condition not to contact the complainant directly or indirectly. It comes as Linehan last month praised the Supreme Court's decision to confirm that the word woman is based on biological sex, meaning trans women are legally not women. Linehan said trans women should be excluded from women's spaces as they were not women - a view that has now been backed up by the Supreme Court. But although he hailed the Supreme Court decision, he said the war on woke has only just begun. Speaking to MailOnline, Linehan described the moment he realised the judge had ruled in favour of biology - and revealed his hopes for his own comedy comeback. He said: 'I was in the courtroom. The judge said we had to respect the court and not have any reaction. 'When we heard it, you could feel the crackle go around the room. 'The moment the judge left, it just sunk in that we won after 10 years of fighting this nonsense. It's good news but this is only one issue in a lot of woke issues. 'The big problem we have is with TV commissioners. The artists are still out there but they have to get past these people who don't really care about art. They care about imposing their beliefs on people. 'If you look back at the 90s with Britpop, British art was famous round all over the world and there was a real sense of excitement. 'But over the last 10 years there's been a dearth of notable stuff. Because these people have tied their hands and feet together. 'It's all very safe - almost trying not to get noticed. 'If you can't say that reality is real, then you can't do jokes about reality. 'That's what all artists do. If you deny the truth of the exterior world, they can't do that. 'But I don't think we will forever be able to stop funny people being funny. People will get sick of it. 'There's going to be a fightback [against wokeness]. Young people are sick of the rules. I think it will naturally fade away and we will come back to freedom of speech.'
The National
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
UK ranked second-worst in western Europe for LGBT+ laws
Despite coming in first place in 2015, Britain has slipped further down the index every year since and is now ranked as the second worst country in western Europe and Scandinavia for LGBT+ legal protections, with a score of only 46%. Beating only Italy in the ranking, the UK fell six places this year as a result of the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding transgender people and the Labour Government's subsequent response. READ MORE: Graham Linehan pleads not guilty to harassment of transgender woman Rebecca Don Kennedy, CEO of the Equality Network, said: 'It is shameful that having been ranked best in Europe for LGBT+ laws ten years ago, we have fallen so far. 'For our treatment of trans people, after the Supreme Court ruling we are now known as one of the worst countries in the whole of Europe. 'The UK must do better.' ILGA-Europe — the international human rights group behind the index rankings — noted that, while hate crime law in Scotland improved with the introduction of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, it had little effect on the UK's overall score. Don Kennedy added: 'Scotland, when analysed separately, has in the past been considered progressive and a beacon of LGBTI+ equality and human rights. 'That seems to be quickly deteriorating – we ask the Scottish Government to act now and do everything they can to improve the lives of LGBTI+ people in Scotland and to not submit to growing anti-LGBGI+ narratives both globally and right here in Scotland. 'We call on the Scottish Government to lead, and to fight for a future Scotland that cares.' READ MORE: Keir Starmer 'completely rejects' comparisons with Enoch Powell The top five countries on the index — Malta, Belgium, Iceland, Denmark and Spain — almost double Britain's score, with theirs ranging from 78% to 89%. The European transgender rights network (TGEU) said: 'Previously a frontrunner on equality, the UK now has a Supreme Court, Prime Minister, and equality body singing from the same hymn sheet as anti-trans campaigners. 'The UK Supreme Court's decision, which defined a 'woman' for the anti-discrimination law, has severely undermined legal certainty for trans people.' You can click here for the full European Rainbow Index.
The National
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
UK ranked second worst in western Europe for LGBT+ laws
Despite coming in first place in 2015, Britain has slipped further down the index every year since and is now ranked as the second worst country in western Europe and Scandinavia for LGBT+ legal protections, with a score of only 46%. Beating only Italy in the ranking, the UK fell seven places this year as a result of the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding transgender people and the Labour Government's subsequent response. READ MORE: Graham Linehan pleads not guilty to harassment of transgender woman Rebecca Don Kennedy, CEO of the Equality Network, said: 'It is shameful that having been ranked best in Europe for LGBT+ laws ten years ago, we have fallen so far. 'For our treatment of trans people, after the Supreme Court ruling we are now known as one of the worst countries in the whole of Europe. 'The UK must do better.' ILGA-Europe — the international human rights group behind the index rankings — noted that, while hate crime law in Scotland improved with the introduction of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, it had little effect on the UK's overall score. Don Kennedy added: 'Scotland, when analysed separately, has in the past been considered progressive and a beacon of LGBTI+ equality and human rights. 'That seems to be quickly deteriorating – we ask the Scottish Government to act now and do everything they can to improve the lives of LGBTI+ people in Scotland and to not submit to growing anti-LGBGI+ narratives both globally and right here in Scotland. 'We call on the Scottish Government to lead, and to fight for a future Scotland that cares.' READ MORE: Keir Starmer 'completely rejects' comparisons with Enoch Powell The top five countries on the index — Malta, Belgium, Iceland, Denmark and Spain — almost double Britain's score, with theirs ranging from 78% to 89%. The European transgender rights network (TGEU) said: 'Previously a frontrunner on equality, the UK now has a Supreme Court, Prime Minister, and equality body singing from the same hymn sheet as anti-trans campaigners. 'The UK Supreme Court's decision, which defined a 'woman' for the anti-discrimination law, has severely undermined legal certainty for trans people.' You can click here for the full European Rainbow Index.
