Olivia Colman criticised by lesbian group after describing herself as ‘gay man’
John Lithgow and Olivia Colman in the queer film, Jimpa. (Kismet Movies)
Olivia Colman has been criticised by a Scottish lesbian group after light-heartedly describing herself as a “gay man”.
During an interview with Them about the movie Jimpa, which is about a bisexual mother named Hannah (Colman) who takes her non-binary child to visit her gay father in Amsterdam, Colman shared that she’s “never felt massively feminine” and describes herself to her husband, Ed Sinclair, “as a gay man”.
However, her comment has landed her in hot water, with the some circles on the internet hitting out at her for being “patronising and insulting“. Now, “gender-critical” Scottish lesbian group The Fantastic Lesbians have taken to social media to criticise Colman further.
The group regularly shares trans-exclusionary messages, such as: “Fantastic Lesbians fully reject the forced-teaming of the LGB with the TQI,” and: “The Fantastic Lesbians are on a lesbian journey, not a TQI journey.”
Captioned, “The Fantastic Lesbian have written to Olivia Colman”, their two-page letter, posted to X on Wednesday (18 February), says that it was sent with a “thoughtful spirit”.
It goes on to explain: “When someone who has lived openly and comfortably as heterosexual speaks about identifying as gay, it can be deeply painful for those whose lives have been shaped by the realities of actually being gay or lesbian.
“For many people in the lesbian and gay community, sexuality has not simply been a label but a journey marked by confusion, fear, self-interrogation, and often profound alienation from family, faith communities or societies at large.”
The letter then says that heterosexual people “never have to ‘come out’” or “weigh the risk of disappointing loved ones simply for being who they are”, while gay and lesbian people have to navigate “marginalisation, stigma,” and often “rejection”.
It concluded that the letter isn’t meant as an attack, “but to express the hurt that can arise when lived experienced that have involved marginalisation are treated as interchangeable with those that have not”.
The post has since been picked up by other “gender-critical” groups and people, such as LGB Alliance.
Speaking to Variety about Jimpa, The Favourite actress expressed her fear that the mainstream entertainment industry is “too nervous” to champion queer films in the current political climate.
Jimpa is in select US cinemas now.
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