Trans BBC star calls for Dame Edna creator to apologise for Jenner comments or be sacked
The star of BBCās first trans drama has said the creator of Dame Edna should apologise for comments he made about Caitlyn Jenner or be sacked.
The comedian behind the beloved Dame Edna Everage, Barry Humphries, has attacked Caitlyn Jenner in a recent interview, as he supported close friend Germaine Greer.
The comic said he agreed with his close friend Germaine Greer ā who sparked controversy recently by declaring trans women are āmen who believe that they are women and have themselves castrated.ā
āI agree with Germaine! Youāre a mutilated man, thatās all,ā Humphries told The Telegraph.
āSelf-mutilation, whatās all this carry on? Caitlyn Jenner ā what a publicity-seeking ratbag. Itās all given the stamp ā not of respectability, but authenticity or something,ā he added.
āIf you criticise anything youāre racist or sexist or homophobic.ā
Rebecca Root, who stars in the BBCās drama āBoy Meets Girlā, said the āretrogradeā comments were āresonant of the bad old daysā.
Root said: āIf he retracts the statement Iād say heās said sorry, and move on. But if he does a Germaine Greer, Iād say heās gone too far and the BBC should reconsider its position on giving him a show.ā
āItās rather disappointing for me as Iāve always liked Barry Humphries, and Iāve seen Dame Edna on stage. The fact is that this sense of humour resonates with the bad old days of Bernard Manning and Jim Davidson; dinosaurs from the 1970s. Itās very retrograde, and I hoped weād moved on from it.ā
The BBC has already said it would not sack the presenter. A spokesman said: āBarry Humphries is a freelance presenter for BBC Radio 2 and these are his personal views, which are not reflected in his radio programme.ā
Greer has previously claimed that ālopping off your d**k and wearing a dress doesnāt make you a f***ing womanā and has accused Jenner of transitioning so she could steal attention from her Kardashian co-stars.
