Irish Film Festival Says Unprompted Defense of One of the Most High-Profile Transphobes Came ‘From a Place of Fear’
Graham Linehan, better known as Britain’s most pathetic man, is at it again with his disgusting transphobic bile. This time, he has company, as the Achill Island Film Festival defended his bigotry.
If you’re not already familiar with Linehan, we’ll give you a brief crash course. He’s said a ton of transphobic things on social media under the guise of “women’s rights,” misgendered and deadnamed trans women, has adamantly protested puberty blockers and hormone therapy treatment, and has defended J.K Rowling’s hate numerous times. Suffice it to say, he’s also been banned on plenty of social media platforms.
According to Film in Dublin, the Achill Island Film Festival Twitter account recently defended Linehan’s abhorrent political views. Why you might ask? Because, according to them, Linehan “doesn’t hate Trans people.” I guess all of those Twitter bans weren’t for hate speech, but for his overwhelming love of trans folk, huh. The account then continued saying “he wants everyone to be safe, you dimmies! He and JK Rowling are talking about EVERYBODY’S safety.”
This incensed a lot of users on Twitter, along with a few filmmakers who showed reservations about submitting future movies to the festival. Achill Island Film Festival takes place annually in Ireland and is hosted by Emily O’Callaghan. I probably would also be hesitant to submit movies to a festival that protected a fascist.
The story takes a weird turn here, as that tweet was actually deleted. They wrote an apology follow-up, signed by the festival host Emily, for anyone they angered. The account has continued posting sporadic apologies, including one posted on August 25, stating “My original post was written from a place of fear – not of trans people.”
Fear is, of course, the ultimate goal for people like Linehan. They want to convince us that trans women are not included in the demographic of “all women,” and that they are, instead, a threat to that group. It’s so disheartening to see his campaign of hate work, especially in a space that’s supposed to be about celebrating a community of artists.
(featured image: re:publica/Wikimedia Commons)
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