Graham Linehan

[urban.spaceman]

23 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

Linehan is a bit weird no doubt, but if telling girls they should feel free to defend themselves against a bloke in the ladies toilets is now inciting violence then WTF.

That’s not what he said. 

[Jon the Hat]

1 hour ago, urban.spaceman said:

That’s not what he said. 

I think on balance I will leave it.

Edited 3 September 2025 by Jon the Hat

[Jon the Hat]

3 hours ago, MPH said:

then take them to court if you really must, call the police if you really want to ( just like someone did to this guy)  but a call to violence NEVER ends well for anyone. We need to get away from this vigilante mentality.

I think on balance I will leave it.

Edited 3 September 2025 by Jon the Hat

[ClaphamFox]

8 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

That’s not what he said. 

We don’t need to debate what he wrote when it has been widely reported. This was the tweet in question:

 

“If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and, if all else fails, punch him in the balls.”

 

Whether or not you agree with the sentiment Linehan he expresses here, it’s clear that he’s referring to men in female spaces, not trans-identified men in general. And the ‘punch in the balls’ comment is a joke about the difference in size between some of those males and the females in those spaces.  

Clearly this a highly contentious issue, with strong feelings on both sides. But I would contend that arresting someone for the tweet above is insane, sinister and a complete waste of police time. I suspect that the large majority of people feel the same way (even Kier Starmer’s official spokesman has basically said the police got it badly wrong). So while I’m sure being arrested by five armed police officers was distressing for Linehan, it was probably a good thing that happened because the public backlash to the police’s actions may finally restore some sanity to how they handle frivolous complaints about about social media posts in the future. 

Edited 3 September 2025 by ClaphamFox

[MPH]

8 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

Linehan is a bit weird no doubt, but if telling girls they should feel free to defend themselves against a bloke in the ladies toilets is now inciting violence then WTF.

 

from what I understand, he’s also talking about someone who’s actually just going for a pee not those who have an alterior motive.

[danny.]

10 hours ago, MPH said:

then take them to court if you really must, call the police if you really want to ( just like someone did to this guy)  but a call to violence NEVER ends well for anyone. We need to get away from this vigilante mentality.

Unless you are Ricky Jones, then it's fine to call for people's throats to be slit over a PA system if you don't like their politics.

[Jon the Hat]

56 minutes ago, MPH said:

 

from what I understand, he’s also talking about someone who’s actually just going for a pee not those who have an alterior motive.

If they are not female, in a female only space.  Which would be illegal.

[The Doctor]

7 hours ago, ClaphamFox said:

We don’t need to debate what he wrote when it has been widely reported. This was the tweet in question:

 

“If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and, if all else fails, punch him in the balls.”

 

Whether or not you agree with the sentiment Linehan he expresses here, it’s clear that he’s referring to men in female spaces, not trans-identified men in general. And the ‘punch in the balls’ comment is a joke about the difference in size between some of those males and the females in those spaces.  

Clearly this a highly contentious issue, with strong feelings on both sides. But I would contend that arresting someone for the tweet above is insane, sinister and a complete waste of police time. I suspect that the large majority of people feel the same way (even Kier Starmer’s official spokesman has basically said the police got it badly wrong). So while I’m sure being arrested by five armed police officers was distressing for Linehan, it was probably a good thing that happened because the public backlash to the police’s actions may finally restore some sanity to how they handle frivolous complaints about about social media posts in the future. 

slurs aside (trans women, not "trans identified males"), what he posted is incitement to violence against random women, while pending trial (due to start tomorrow) on charges of harassing and assaulting a teenage girl. You talk about violent men - Linehan is right there. but that doesn't count, that violence is just a joke, the real violence is that a woman might go for a piss.

[ClaphamFox]

Well I did expect there to be repercussions from the decision to arrest a comedian over a joke, but I didn't expect it to be this quick. It seems that both the government and the police want the law changed so that the police are never compelled again to take such action. 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1mx09l5297o

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2922w73e1o

[The Doctor]

1 hour ago, Jon the Hat said:

If they are not female, in a female only space.  Which would be illegal.

no it wouldn't. The EHRC code of conduct hasn't been updated following the supreme court verdict, as currently segregation is not mandated by UK law,  and indeed the supreme court case did not say it should be either, just that where sex is referred to in relation to the equality act, it should be read as (poorly defined but assumed to be assigned at birth) 'biological sex'. Frankly the verdict was a mess which raised questions of the legitimacy of single sex services generally, creates a rather interesting legal issue raised in the commons today (acquiring a GRC requires making a statutory declaration that you will live as your acquired sex for life. if you state that you cannot live as a sex other than that assigned at birth, every single GRC holder is pushed into a state of committing perjury), and everyone is waiting for the EHRC code to avoid being the first place sued into oblivion over this mess.

[The Horse's Mouth]

I’ve kept an eye on linehan for a long time now, just because I quite enjoyed watching the car crash around him initially. I think he’s genuinely somewhat on the spectrum, and he does really crave the adulation and I do feel a bit sorry for him, as I do think he comes into it from the right place and there is serious questions around the trans movement. A lot of the lawsuits he’s found himself in really opened up my eyes in particular on how ****ed our actual system is 

 

As for this, it’s ridiculous I don’t know how you can really defend it tbh. Really does show how batshit the country has gone really 

 

[Dunge]

I think this case and those like it are indicative of the problem we have in modern society with social media. Twitter/X in particular is treated like chatting with fellow pub-goers whereas it’s actually like shouting something through a megaphone. Someone says what Linehan did at a pub, everyone ignores them and moves on. If they go to the clock tower and shout it through a megaphone, the police would get involved.

 

Context is the problem, and people not understanding that they’re essentially on a platform when they write these things. And there are so many of them on social media from across the political spectrum that I really don’t know what to do about it. Try to stop it and the police are overwhelmed and the populace get angry. Ignore it and you’re letting people get away with incitement to violence and that will get exploited by extremists. What is unfortunately clear is that a lot of people won’t self-regulate online.

[leicsmac]

8 minutes ago, Dunge said:

I think this case and those like it are indicative of the problem we have in modern society with social media. Twitter/X in particular is treated like chatting with fellow pub-goers whereas it’s actually like shouting something through a megaphone. Someone says what Linehan did at a pub, everyone ignores them and moves on. If they go to the clock tower and shout it through a megaphone, the police would get involved.

 

Context is the problem, and people not understanding that they’re essentially on a platform when they write these things. And there are so many of them on social media from across the political spectrum that I really don’t know what to do about it. Try to stop it and the police are overwhelmed and the populace get angry. Ignore it and you’re letting people get away with incitement to violence and that will get exploited by extremists. What is unfortunately clear is that a lot of people won’t self-regulate online.

And to add to this, such incitement can now easily become a matter of political policy, by virtue of digital media bringing enough people together to form a significant voting bloc on an issue. 

 

That lets the extremism described above not only become normalised, but politically acceptable. 

[urban.spaceman]

7 hours ago, ClaphamFox said:

We don’t need to debate what he wrote when it has been widely reported. This was the tweet in question:

 

“If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and, if all else fails, punch him in the balls.”

 

Whether or not you agree with the sentiment Linehan he expresses here, it’s clear that he’s referring to men in female spaces, not trans-identified men in general. And the ‘punch in the balls’ comment is a joke about the difference in size between some of those males and the females in those spaces.

It's very clear what Linehan was referring to. My point was that Jon's post:

 

10 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

Linehan is a bit weird no doubt, but if telling girls they should feel free to defend themselves against a bloke in the ladies toilets is now inciting violence then WTF.

Is not the same as Linehan's post. Words matter.

 

7 hours ago, ClaphamFox said:

Clearly this a highly contentious issue, with strong feelings on both sides. But I would contend that arresting someone for the tweet above is insane, sinister and a complete waste of police time. I suspect that the large majority of people feel the same way (even Kier Starmer’s official spokesman has basically said the police got it badly wrong). So while I’m sure being arrested by five armed police officers was distressing for Linehan, it was probably a good thing that happened because the public backlash to the police’s actions may finally restore some sanity to how they handle frivolous complaints about about social media posts in the future. 

I don't think I've disagreed with that.

 

The law on incitement has been in place for 4 decades now and the police clearly felt that Linehan's tweet met the threshold for investigation. Not saying that's right, just that they acted on what the law says after a complaint from the public. They were right to do that over Connolly's tweet and right to do so over Jones' speech. 

[urban.spaceman]

42 minutes ago, The Doctor said:

slurs aside (trans women, not "trans identified males"), what he posted is incitement to violence against random women, while pending trial (due to start tomorrow) on charges of harassing and assaulting a teenage girl. You talk about violent men - Linehan is right there. but that doesn't count, that violence is just a joke, the real violence is that a woman might go for a piss.

My oldest friend's husband is trans and it really hadn't dawned on me until I met him how much we all take for granted being able to go for a ****ing pee or poo without the anxiety of having your identity questioned or facing the possibility of assault. The first night I met him we were out for drinks in town and his choices were either to use the men's bogs which we all know can be like the toilet in Transpotting some times, or to use the women's toilets while clearly presenting as a man with a huge beard. Everyone is focusing on what Linehan said and the consequences for him, nobody seems to have thought about the consequences of narratives like his and Rowling's on innocent people who just need to do a basic human daily activity. 

 

 

[Torquay Gunner]

46 minutes ago, urban.spaceman said:

My oldest friend's husband is trans and it really hadn't dawned on me until I met him how much we all take for granted being able to go for a ****ing pee or poo without the anxiety of having your identity questioned or facing the possibility of assault. The first night I met him we were out for drinks in town and his choices were either to use the men's bogs which we all know can be like the toilet in Transpotting some times, or to use the women's toilets while clearly presenting as a man with a huge beard. Everyone is focusing on what Linehan said and the consequences for him, nobody seems to have thought about the consequences of narratives like his and Rowling's on innocent people who just need to do a basic human daily activity. 

 

 

Looks like my genuine question has been removed.  Pity.

[MPH]

5 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

If they are not female, in a female only space.  Which would be illegal.

 

you’re right. So let’s just take it into our own hands and go round hurting people  every time someone breaks the law in any way shall we?

 

 

little bit draconian sounding to me

Edited 3 September 2025 by MPH

[urban.spaceman]

8 minutes ago, Torquay Gunner said:

Looks like my genuine question has been removed.  Pity.

DM me and I'll answer it

[The Doctor]

2 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

My oldest friend's husband is trans and it really hadn't dawned on me until I met him how much we all take for granted being able to go for a ****ing pee or poo without the anxiety of having your identity questioned or facing the possibility of assault. The first night I met him we were out for drinks in town and his choices were either to use the men's bogs which we all know can be like the toilet in Transpotting some times, or to use the women's toilets while clearly presenting as a man with a huge beard. Everyone is focusing on what Linehan said and the consequences for him, nobody seems to have thought about the consequences of narratives like his and Rowling's on innocent people who just need to do a basic human daily activity. 

 

 

And this is part of the problem with the fallout of all this - like I wouldn't expect him to be comfortable using those spaces, or for the women using those spaces to be comfortable either (and this is a judgment call trans people consistently have to make - how consistently am I read as my gender, what space is safer for me to use: like I stopped using men's spaces after multiple occurrences of blokes walking in while I was washing my hands, turning round, walking out to check the sign, then coming back and getting aggy with me). The proposed code of conduct would ban him from using the men's loos, but him having a huge beard and being visibly a man would also bar him from the women's. So, then the question is where the hell he goes.

 

People will say third spaces but a) those spaces don't exist yet, is he supposed to spend 6 months+ housebound waiting, and b) are those spaces ever going to exist, who the hell is paying for the entire country to be remodeled to provide extra space for 0.5% of the population. You can argue the accessible loos are third spaces, and I know several trans people who've considered getting radar keys for this purpose, but then is that also discrimination against disabled people if the accomodations in accessible loos aren't needed.

 

It is a serious problem with historical precedence (was termed the urinary leash back in the Victorian age when women were starting to have more entry into the public sphere), but rather than questioning that and how we're going to be able to participate fully in society, instead it's constantly about a writer from the 90s who's given up their actual career in favour of staring at random women's crotches looking for a penis like a demented game of wheres wally, and that that description doesn't actually narrow it down to a single person is insane.

[The Doctor]

as for Linehans arrest: if you believe that incitement to violence should be an offence, obviously he should have been arrested. You can argue the toss over whether words matter or whether police intervention should be reserved for likely action but you have to be consistent (see also Lucy Connolly last summer).

 

that said, nothing better in this situation than his substack about it, complaining his one bail condition is to stay off Twitter. Like, yer das been banned fae Twitter by the polis.

[Dr The Singh]

2 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

DM me and I'll answer it

What did he ask?

[urban.spaceman]

Just now, Dr The Singh said:

What did he ask?

DM me and I'll not answer it

[Dr The Singh]

Just now, urban.spaceman said:

DM me and I'll not answer it

I thought we were bum chums

[urban.spaceman]

Just now, Dr The Singh said:

I thought we were bum chums

[Dr The Singh]

Just now, urban.spaceman said: