Irish anti-trans activist and comedy author Graham Linehan has posted an e mail he claimed was despatched to him by Barry Humphries within the fallout over the Melbourne International Comedy Festival incident.
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2019 eliminated Humphries’ title from considered one of its key awards after Humphries’ remarks about transgender folks, which included labelling gender affirmation surgical procedure as “self-mutilation”.
Critics of the transfer claimed it was an try and “cancel” the Aussie comedy icon.
Humphries, who helped discovered the competition, died over the weekend following points from a damaged hip.
Now, Linehan has shared an e mail he obtained from Humphries, seemingly in response to correspondence he despatched first.
The e mail purportedly from Humphries stated, “Thanks for your letter. I’ve been banned by the Melbourne Comedy Festival which Peter Cook and I launched! I’ve been attacked and branded fascist and ‘transphobic’ (sic) by the ‘they’ brigade, and accused of racism by people who have never met an aborigine.
“That actors who have become rich and famous by performing in JKR’s plays and films and then vindictively excoriated her, seems to me a cowardly betrayal. Thanks for writing to me and good luck against a powerful and malign foe.”
Humphries seems to be referring to J.Ok. Rowling by “JKR”. The Harry Potter creator is without doubt one of the most high-profile anti-trans activists and refers to herself as “TERF”, an acronym for “trans-exclusionary radical feminist”.
Humphries additionally seems to have taken umbrage on the public distancing from Rowling by Harry Potter movie actors together with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.
Linehan co-created TV comedies together with Father Ted, Black Books and The IT Crowd however has in recent times grow to be higher identified for his strident anti-trans views. Linehan’s Twitter account was in 2020 suspended after “repeated violations of rules against hateful conduct” however was reinstated after Elon Musk purchased the social media community.
In the wake of Humphries’ demise, the Melbourne International Film Festival’s 2019 determination has come underneath assault by some commentators, who accused the competition of “cancelling” the comic.
The competition’s director Susan Provan defended the organisation for not speeding an official tribute for inclusion in its present program.
She advised ABC radio in Melbourne, “We’ve never cancelled Barry Humphries. There seems to be some misconceptions going on around there. We changed the name of an award, which… was the right decision to make when we did that.
“We have celebrated, and continue to celebrate Barry, an incredible comedian, comic artists, who took Australian comedy global. We will always celebrate that he was amazing. And we really value his contribution to the comedy festival too.”
Provan added the choice had been made in 2019 as a result of Humphries’ “comments did not reflect the values of our community”.
Comedian Sammy J, who served on the artists’ board who drove the choice to strip Humphries’ title from the competition award, wrote in an opinion piece for Nine Newspapers that the selection was between hurting Humphries’ emotions or “ignoring and excluding members of a vulnerable community”.
He added, “Art festivals only exist if there are artists. And artists only take part in festivals they feel welcome at. Can you imagine being a trans comedian nominated for an award named after someone who’d wilfully torn down your sense of worth?
“No, neither can I. That’s the problem with being in a minority – most people will never understand what your journey’s been like. But in the absence of shared experience, we can still rely on empathy.”
Source: www.news.com.au
