Rylan slams ‘mass wave of hate’ being directed at trans people

Rylan Clark has slammed the “mass wave of hate” being directed at trans people. 

The TV presenter, 36, who has faced his own battles with homophobia, made the comment during an appearance at the Edinburgh TV Festival this week.

“I feel that there is a mass wave of hate just sweeping the community, especially trans people at the moment,” he began, as reported by The Independent.

“There’s a lot of people that are talking about bathrooms and spaces and things like this and people are just being tarnished with the same brush.”

Clark went on to explain that there is a mindset which seeks to tarnish the trans community: if one trans person does something bad, then all trans people are judged as “awful people,” he said of the mentality. He then called for more visibility of the community. 

“Trans people … they’re going through a wave of hate at the minute, and I think there is space to show real stories, real trans people.

“A lot of people out there think trans people are the enemy, f*** me.

“I’d like you to walk a mile in their shoes and see who the real enemy is out there to people, because the stories that I know of friends of mine and people that I’ve grown up with, transitions are awful, absolutely awful.”

Clark’s comments follow the UK Supreme Court ruling that the protected characteristic of “sex” in the 2010 Equality Act did not include trans people.

In the days that followed the judgement, the Equality and Human Rights Commission issued draft guidance calling for service providers to bar trans men and women from single-sex services and facilities.

A leaked version of the EHRC’s finalised guidance, published by The Times last week, is said to be not too dissimilar to the draft guidelines and will ban trans people from changing rooms, wards and sporting competitions, as well as other spaces and services.

Already trans people are facing discrimination, with a spokesperson for Marks & Spencer’s stating that its bra-fitting services are designed only for “biological females”. 

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