‘It’s just been a nightmare’: Graham Linehan ‘nearly barred from Australia’ over trans views
Father Ted creator Graham Linehan has spoken out on his struggles with cancel culture after years of speaking out on trans issues.
Speaking to Patrick Christys on GB News, he recounted what he describes as a ‘nightmare’.
Linehan even divulged a recent struggle that saw him almost not be allowed into Australia, claiming he was seen as being a ‘bigot’.
“From the moment I started talking about this issue, I had friends and even family members distance themselves from me”, he said.
“I got threats. I got nasty emails, nasty direct messages, some of them from people I had worked with for years, everyone telling me to stop talking and shut up.
“I had police visit me twice on behalf of trans activists. I lost my family and marriage, I’m still close to my children but I lost my marriage because I kept losing jobs and opportunities, it was unrelenting pressure.
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“I genuinely thought my Father Ted colleagues would stand up for me and see what is happening to children and realise I was right to be taking the stand I was taking but instead they told me to remove my name from the musical and said they would not make it if I didn’t.
“They offered me £200,000. I refused. It has just been a nightmare for the last six years.
“I haven’t written comedy for six years. I have just written journalism because journalists refuse to do their jobs on this.
“I have to say GB News is the one exception to that. It has been a lone fight. I’m extremely tired.
“I nearly didn’t get into Australia because Australian authorities thought I was some sort of bigot.”
It comes after the Cass Review delivered a scathing verdict on NHS practices into gender-questioning children.
Linehan believes the report, which said children have been let down by a lack of research and evidence on the use of puberty blockers and hormones, has vindicated his position on trans matters.
With the publication of the review, it emerged that adult clinics had refused to support a study on outcomes for approximately 9,000 young people who have moved over the years from the now-shut gender service at the Tavistock trust into adult gender dysphoria clinics.
Dr Cass said it would have been a “world-leading opportunity” to add to the evidence base and described it as “hugely disappointing” that they had decided not to take part.
Among her 32 recommendations, Dr Cass called for a “follow-through” service for 17 to 25-year-olds rather than this “vulnerable” group going straight into adult clinics, saying teenagers are “falling off a cliff edge” in their care when they reach 17.