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Graham Linehan on the chapter about him in Jon Ronson's new book

511 replies

impossibletoday · 29/08/2026 21:50

Graham Linehan on Jon Ronson's new book

My ex-friend Jon Ronson may be a case study in the corrupting toxicity of trans ideology. An interesting read.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/29278d258cf0921b

My ex-friend Jon Ronson may be a case study in the corrupting toxicity of trans ideology

His book chapter about me stands as an indictment of him and the cowardly social class of people who refuse to confront uncomfortable truths

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/29278d258cf0921b

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11
JennyShaw · 01/10/2026 09:25

TheKeatingFive · 24/09/2026 09:13

You are talking complete nonsense here.

Neither surgery or drugs alters your DNA, chromosomes or the reproductive pathway your body followed.

Transwomen are men. There is precisely zero objective, scientific, verifiable criteria that would make them women.

Scientific illiteracy is not big or clever.

I have been trying to explain to you that not everything has to be biological.

Ereshkigalangcleg · 24/09/2026 16:49

BernardBlacksMolluscs · 24/09/2026 10:19

The idea that there is any debate on the subject of whether humans can change sex

deary, deary me.

i know, how 2016 😂

lcakethereforeIam · 24/09/2026 14:52

I think they'd all drown. The wizard didn't turn the woman into a mermaid, he only gave her a fish's tail. Possibly battered with some chips, the man wasn't clear.

PencilsInSpace · 24/09/2026 14:47

lcakethereforeIam · 24/09/2026 10:19

If surgeons could work magic...transwomen would be women? I suppose but they can only, with varying degrees of skill, cut people up and stitch them back together again.

BTW those women, the ones with fish tails, will drown. There's more to being a fish than the tail.

That seems to be what Jenny is arguing but we mustn't accuse her of ignoring reality 🙃

BTW those women, the ones with fish tails, will drown. There's more to being a fish than the tail.

Which ones? The ones turned into mermaids by wizards or the ones operated on by surgeons (on request, of course)?

napody · 24/09/2026 11:27

JennyShaw · 24/09/2026 09:06

(Obviously Graham's recent behaviour and especially 'retard' is far from ok. Most have already argued this on this very thread so hardly a gotcha).

That's not true. These are the responses
Why is it ok to mock Ed Sheeran?
He mocked someone who mocked someone, shocker, without any details to go, so what?
It’s a horrible word. I hate it used as an insult. What relevance is that to Jon Ronson’s book?
'Miss, Miss, he used a bad word, Miss!'
And still, men cannot become women.
You seem ever so slightly obsessed with him.

All of them attempting to dismiss Linehan's abuse of a disabled woman.

He cheers on the cancellation of someone for GC views

Jon Ronson invited Graham Linehan to participate in his radio show, the episode on trans issues "I think it would be a great opportunity for people to hear you tell your story with plenty of space to tell it". Linehan turned him down because there can be no debate about whether men can become women.

How exactly does JR 'see both sides of an argument' rather than fuel polarisation here.

There are different categories that people put themselves in, or put other people in. Male/female, adult/child, black/white. All of these categories were originally purely biological but now they're not.

We used to think that when a child had puberty then they became adult. People in some parts of the world still believe that. We believe that about animals.

GC people are keen on saying we don't accept a white person pretending to be black so why do we accept a man pretending to be a woman. This is widely used as a gotcha however there are millions of people who call themselves black or Black or Afro-Caribbean or African-American who don't have much connection biologically to the continent of Africa. Black people can have black, brown or pale skin.

You could say that transwomen are the odd ones out here because they are biologically male. A transwoman who has been surgically altered and is taking female hormones isn't biologically the same as a man. That would be like saying that a bullock is biologically the same as a bull. Both bulls and bullocks have XY chromosomes but they are not biologically the same.

So if people want to accept transwomen as women they should be able to do that without being accused of ignoring reality or being delusional. You of course have a right to say that a transwoman is a man, just as you have the right to insist that a 13 year old is a woman.

You of course have a right to say that a transwoman is a man, just as you have the right to insist that a 13 year old is a woman.

Wow, lots to unpack here. More than I have the time or inclination to do.

Let's just stick with the fact that bullocks are still male, and anyone "insisting that a 13 year old is a woman" should have their intentions examined in a similar way to those insisting that women never need single sex spaces.

BackToLurk · 24/09/2026 11:03

Shedmistress · 24/09/2026 10:44

A 'disabled' woman who called Ed Sheeran disabled for not having a backbone?

If you can't take it she should maybe not have given it.

I don't like the word. I don't care who uses it. However, there is a certain amount of evidence that GL is not new to using it. This suggests he would have used it when he and JR were more friendly. So again, I'd ask Jenny what relevance GL's usage has to JR's book.

Shedmistress · 24/09/2026 10:44

BackToLurk · 24/09/2026 10:43

Could you expand on how "It’s a horrible word. I hate it used as an insult. What relevance is that to Jon Ronson’s book?" is an attempt to dismiss Linehan's abuse of a disabled woman?

A 'disabled' woman who called Ed Sheeran disabled for not having a backbone?

If you can't take it she should maybe not have given it.

BackToLurk · 24/09/2026 10:43

JennyShaw · 24/09/2026 09:06

(Obviously Graham's recent behaviour and especially 'retard' is far from ok. Most have already argued this on this very thread so hardly a gotcha).

That's not true. These are the responses
Why is it ok to mock Ed Sheeran?
He mocked someone who mocked someone, shocker, without any details to go, so what?
It’s a horrible word. I hate it used as an insult. What relevance is that to Jon Ronson’s book?
'Miss, Miss, he used a bad word, Miss!'
And still, men cannot become women.
You seem ever so slightly obsessed with him.

All of them attempting to dismiss Linehan's abuse of a disabled woman.

He cheers on the cancellation of someone for GC views

Jon Ronson invited Graham Linehan to participate in his radio show, the episode on trans issues "I think it would be a great opportunity for people to hear you tell your story with plenty of space to tell it". Linehan turned him down because there can be no debate about whether men can become women.

How exactly does JR 'see both sides of an argument' rather than fuel polarisation here.

There are different categories that people put themselves in, or put other people in. Male/female, adult/child, black/white. All of these categories were originally purely biological but now they're not.

We used to think that when a child had puberty then they became adult. People in some parts of the world still believe that. We believe that about animals.

GC people are keen on saying we don't accept a white person pretending to be black so why do we accept a man pretending to be a woman. This is widely used as a gotcha however there are millions of people who call themselves black or Black or Afro-Caribbean or African-American who don't have much connection biologically to the continent of Africa. Black people can have black, brown or pale skin.

You could say that transwomen are the odd ones out here because they are biologically male. A transwoman who has been surgically altered and is taking female hormones isn't biologically the same as a man. That would be like saying that a bullock is biologically the same as a bull. Both bulls and bullocks have XY chromosomes but they are not biologically the same.

So if people want to accept transwomen as women they should be able to do that without being accused of ignoring reality or being delusional. You of course have a right to say that a transwoman is a man, just as you have the right to insist that a 13 year old is a woman.

Could you expand on how "It’s a horrible word. I hate it used as an insult. What relevance is that to Jon Ronson’s book?" is an attempt to dismiss Linehan's abuse of a disabled woman?

lcakethereforeIam · 24/09/2026 10:41

Someone should let dairy farmers know that giving their bullocks oestrogen will turn them into heifers. It'll save them having to slaughter most of their male calves.

I'd love to see someone tell a black American they have not much connection to the continent of Africa so...are really white? Or no more black than a white person who says they are black. Although I'd advise doing it remotely, over a screen.

TheywontletmehavethenameIwant · 24/09/2026 10:21

Both bulls and bullocks have XY chromosomes but they are not biologically the same.

Wrong, they're both biologically male bovines, the only difference is one has been castrated, a GA man who's been castrated is still a man, he's just one that's been castrated.

So if people want to accept transwomen as women they should be able to do that without being accused of ignoring reality or being delusional.

Why they are ignoring the reality of who the man is, why shouldn't it be pointed out to them?

Black people can have black, brown or pale skin.

Yes they can, but a white person putting shoe polish on their face is considered to be committing an offensive act, so why is a man putting on a woman's face also not seen as offensive. It's a valid comparison, unlike millions of people who call themselves black or Black or Afro-Caribbean or African-American who don't have much connection biologically to the continent of Africa, I have no idea what that's supose to prove.

BernardBlacksMolluscs · 24/09/2026 10:20

lcakethereforeIam · 24/09/2026 10:19

If surgeons could work magic...transwomen would be women? I suppose but they can only, with varying degrees of skill, cut people up and stitch them back together again.

BTW those women, the ones with fish tails, will drown. There's more to being a fish than the tail.

Put your finger on it Cake

BernardBlacksMolluscs · 24/09/2026 10:19

The idea that there is any debate on the subject of whether humans can change sex

deary, deary me.

lcakethereforeIam · 24/09/2026 10:19

If surgeons could work magic...transwomen would be women? I suppose but they can only, with varying degrees of skill, cut people up and stitch them back together again.

BTW those women, the ones with fish tails, will drown. There's more to being a fish than the tail.

PencilsInSpace · 24/09/2026 09:22

JennyShaw · 24/09/2026 09:06

(Obviously Graham's recent behaviour and especially 'retard' is far from ok. Most have already argued this on this very thread so hardly a gotcha).

That's not true. These are the responses
Why is it ok to mock Ed Sheeran?
He mocked someone who mocked someone, shocker, without any details to go, so what?
It’s a horrible word. I hate it used as an insult. What relevance is that to Jon Ronson’s book?
'Miss, Miss, he used a bad word, Miss!'
And still, men cannot become women.
You seem ever so slightly obsessed with him.

All of them attempting to dismiss Linehan's abuse of a disabled woman.

He cheers on the cancellation of someone for GC views

Jon Ronson invited Graham Linehan to participate in his radio show, the episode on trans issues "I think it would be a great opportunity for people to hear you tell your story with plenty of space to tell it". Linehan turned him down because there can be no debate about whether men can become women.

How exactly does JR 'see both sides of an argument' rather than fuel polarisation here.

There are different categories that people put themselves in, or put other people in. Male/female, adult/child, black/white. All of these categories were originally purely biological but now they're not.

We used to think that when a child had puberty then they became adult. People in some parts of the world still believe that. We believe that about animals.

GC people are keen on saying we don't accept a white person pretending to be black so why do we accept a man pretending to be a woman. This is widely used as a gotcha however there are millions of people who call themselves black or Black or Afro-Caribbean or African-American who don't have much connection biologically to the continent of Africa. Black people can have black, brown or pale skin.

You could say that transwomen are the odd ones out here because they are biologically male. A transwoman who has been surgically altered and is taking female hormones isn't biologically the same as a man. That would be like saying that a bullock is biologically the same as a bull. Both bulls and bullocks have XY chromosomes but they are not biologically the same.

So if people want to accept transwomen as women they should be able to do that without being accused of ignoring reality or being delusional. You of course have a right to say that a transwoman is a man, just as you have the right to insist that a 13 year old is a woman.

Both bulls and bullocks are male.

Graham Linehan on the chapter about him in Jon Ronson's new book
TheKeatingFive · 24/09/2026 09:13

JennyShaw · 24/09/2026 09:06

(Obviously Graham's recent behaviour and especially 'retard' is far from ok. Most have already argued this on this very thread so hardly a gotcha).

That's not true. These are the responses
Why is it ok to mock Ed Sheeran?
He mocked someone who mocked someone, shocker, without any details to go, so what?
It’s a horrible word. I hate it used as an insult. What relevance is that to Jon Ronson’s book?
'Miss, Miss, he used a bad word, Miss!'
And still, men cannot become women.
You seem ever so slightly obsessed with him.

All of them attempting to dismiss Linehan's abuse of a disabled woman.

He cheers on the cancellation of someone for GC views

Jon Ronson invited Graham Linehan to participate in his radio show, the episode on trans issues "I think it would be a great opportunity for people to hear you tell your story with plenty of space to tell it". Linehan turned him down because there can be no debate about whether men can become women.

How exactly does JR 'see both sides of an argument' rather than fuel polarisation here.

There are different categories that people put themselves in, or put other people in. Male/female, adult/child, black/white. All of these categories were originally purely biological but now they're not.

We used to think that when a child had puberty then they became adult. People in some parts of the world still believe that. We believe that about animals.

GC people are keen on saying we don't accept a white person pretending to be black so why do we accept a man pretending to be a woman. This is widely used as a gotcha however there are millions of people who call themselves black or Black or Afro-Caribbean or African-American who don't have much connection biologically to the continent of Africa. Black people can have black, brown or pale skin.

You could say that transwomen are the odd ones out here because they are biologically male. A transwoman who has been surgically altered and is taking female hormones isn't biologically the same as a man. That would be like saying that a bullock is biologically the same as a bull. Both bulls and bullocks have XY chromosomes but they are not biologically the same.

So if people want to accept transwomen as women they should be able to do that without being accused of ignoring reality or being delusional. You of course have a right to say that a transwoman is a man, just as you have the right to insist that a 13 year old is a woman.

You are talking complete nonsense here.

Neither surgery or drugs alters your DNA, chromosomes or the reproductive pathway your body followed.

Transwomen are men. There is precisely zero objective, scientific, verifiable criteria that would make them women.

Scientific illiteracy is not big or clever.

JennyShaw · 24/09/2026 09:06

napody · 21/09/2026 07:06

How exactly does JR 'see both sides of an argument' rather than fuel polarisation here. He cheers on the cancellation of someone for GC views, and he doesn't balance that with e.g. critiquing the treatment of JKR who has behaved impeccably. Or engage with the GC arguments in any way.

A vague privileged hand wave and a 'mistakes were made on both sides' doesn't even begin to unpick the harms done by the unquestioning acceptance of gender ideology worldwide. GC feminists are the only ones who have dismantled 'no debate' and patiently got the UK, uniquely, to a situation where we can even discuss 'both sides' in a rational way. But with an ethical core which Ronson lacks.

(Obviously Graham's recent behaviour and especially 'retard' is far from ok. Most have already argued this on this very thread so hardly a gotcha).

(Obviously Graham's recent behaviour and especially 'retard' is far from ok. Most have already argued this on this very thread so hardly a gotcha).

That's not true. These are the responses
Why is it ok to mock Ed Sheeran?
He mocked someone who mocked someone, shocker, without any details to go, so what?
It’s a horrible word. I hate it used as an insult. What relevance is that to Jon Ronson’s book?
'Miss, Miss, he used a bad word, Miss!'
And still, men cannot become women.
You seem ever so slightly obsessed with him.

All of them attempting to dismiss Linehan's abuse of a disabled woman.

He cheers on the cancellation of someone for GC views

Jon Ronson invited Graham Linehan to participate in his radio show, the episode on trans issues "I think it would be a great opportunity for people to hear you tell your story with plenty of space to tell it". Linehan turned him down because there can be no debate about whether men can become women.

How exactly does JR 'see both sides of an argument' rather than fuel polarisation here.

There are different categories that people put themselves in, or put other people in. Male/female, adult/child, black/white. All of these categories were originally purely biological but now they're not.

We used to think that when a child had puberty then they became adult. People in some parts of the world still believe that. We believe that about animals.

GC people are keen on saying we don't accept a white person pretending to be black so why do we accept a man pretending to be a woman. This is widely used as a gotcha however there are millions of people who call themselves black or Black or Afro-Caribbean or African-American who don't have much connection biologically to the continent of Africa. Black people can have black, brown or pale skin.

You could say that transwomen are the odd ones out here because they are biologically male. A transwoman who has been surgically altered and is taking female hormones isn't biologically the same as a man. That would be like saying that a bullock is biologically the same as a bull. Both bulls and bullocks have XY chromosomes but they are not biologically the same.

So if people want to accept transwomen as women they should be able to do that without being accused of ignoring reality or being delusional. You of course have a right to say that a transwoman is a man, just as you have the right to insist that a 13 year old is a woman.

stickygotstuck · 23/09/2026 09:34

MyAmpleSheep · 22/09/2026 20:52

Hate speech ain’t what it used to be, that’s for sure.

Indeed.

I was listening to a FSU podcast yesterday, an interview with a journalist (sorry, can't remember his name) investigating the incidence of arrests for hate speech, and the proportion of those arrested who end up being charged.

It would appear the good people of Cumbria are 14 times more hateful than their neighbours in Northumberland. Which statistically is rather odd, shall we say.

Edit: missing word.

MyAmpleSheep · 22/09/2026 20:52

TransParentlyAnnoyed · 22/09/2026 19:59

Because it's an opinion. And a pretty popular one at that.

Whereas using the R-slur, ever - let alone to describe a disabled woman - is hate speech.

Hth!

Hate speech ain’t what it used to be, that’s for sure.

TransParentlyAnnoyed · 22/09/2026 19:59

Because it's an opinion. And a pretty popular one at that.

Whereas using the R-slur, ever - let alone to describe a disabled woman - is hate speech.

Hth!

TheKeatingFive · 21/09/2026 08:21

JennyShaw · 20/09/2026 13:13

Erin Tatum's criticism of Ed Sheeran was quite clever. She “welcomed” him to the disability community for lacking a backbone over the Macklemore/Palestine tour fallout. Which is one reason why Graham Linehan calling her a 'retard' is pretty stupid.

30% to 50% of people with cerebral palsy experience some form of cognitive impairment or learning challenge. It is totally unacceptable for someone to call someone with cerebral palsy a retard. Even if her criticism of Sheeran had been less intelligent than than Linehan's criticism of her, which it wasn't.

I don't agree with Tatum's criticism of Sheeran though, even though it was quite clever. We live in an increasingly polarised world and people who can see both sides of an argument get accused of sitting on the fence.

Jon Ronson is someone who can see both sides of an argument and Graham Linehan isn't.

I really hate this comeback of the ‘R’ word, it’s gross. I’ve never heard of Erin Tatum but I’m not seeing anything remotely clever about what she says there.

As for Ronson, what ‘both sides’ do you think he is seeing? What I see is a cowardly asshat who obviously thinks women are second class citizens.

napody · 21/09/2026 07:06

JennyShaw · 20/09/2026 13:13

Erin Tatum's criticism of Ed Sheeran was quite clever. She “welcomed” him to the disability community for lacking a backbone over the Macklemore/Palestine tour fallout. Which is one reason why Graham Linehan calling her a 'retard' is pretty stupid.

30% to 50% of people with cerebral palsy experience some form of cognitive impairment or learning challenge. It is totally unacceptable for someone to call someone with cerebral palsy a retard. Even if her criticism of Sheeran had been less intelligent than than Linehan's criticism of her, which it wasn't.

I don't agree with Tatum's criticism of Sheeran though, even though it was quite clever. We live in an increasingly polarised world and people who can see both sides of an argument get accused of sitting on the fence.

Jon Ronson is someone who can see both sides of an argument and Graham Linehan isn't.

How exactly does JR 'see both sides of an argument' rather than fuel polarisation here. He cheers on the cancellation of someone for GC views, and he doesn't balance that with e.g. critiquing the treatment of JKR who has behaved impeccably. Or engage with the GC arguments in any way.

A vague privileged hand wave and a 'mistakes were made on both sides' doesn't even begin to unpick the harms done by the unquestioning acceptance of gender ideology worldwide. GC feminists are the only ones who have dismantled 'no debate' and patiently got the UK, uniquely, to a situation where we can even discuss 'both sides' in a rational way. But with an ethical core which Ronson lacks.

(Obviously Graham's recent behaviour and especially 'retard' is far from ok. Most have already argued this on this very thread so hardly a gotcha).

Datun · 20/09/2026 21:43

smug wank

😁

ArabellaScott · 20/09/2026 17:15

JennyShaw · 20/09/2026 13:13

Erin Tatum's criticism of Ed Sheeran was quite clever. She “welcomed” him to the disability community for lacking a backbone over the Macklemore/Palestine tour fallout. Which is one reason why Graham Linehan calling her a 'retard' is pretty stupid.

30% to 50% of people with cerebral palsy experience some form of cognitive impairment or learning challenge. It is totally unacceptable for someone to call someone with cerebral palsy a retard. Even if her criticism of Sheeran had been less intelligent than than Linehan's criticism of her, which it wasn't.

I don't agree with Tatum's criticism of Sheeran though, even though it was quite clever. We live in an increasingly polarised world and people who can see both sides of an argument get accused of sitting on the fence.

Jon Ronson is someone who can see both sides of an argument and Graham Linehan isn't.

Jon Ronson pestered Linehan and then wrote a whole chapter of his book about him in an attempt to shame him.

Ronson is a coward and a smug wank.

I agree that calling anyone 'retard' is horrible.

TheywontletmehavethenameIwant · 20/09/2026 14:06

We live in an increasingly polarised world and people who can see both sides of an argument get accused of sitting on the fence.

Because there aren't 2 sides when it comes to group think, it takes courage to defeat stupidity not intelligence. Ronson isn't courageous Glinder is.

JennyShaw · 20/09/2026 13:13

TheywontletmehavethenameIwant · 18/09/2026 06:01

He mocked someone who mocked someone, shocker, without any details to go, so what?🤪

Erin Tatum's criticism of Ed Sheeran was quite clever. She “welcomed” him to the disability community for lacking a backbone over the Macklemore/Palestine tour fallout. Which is one reason why Graham Linehan calling her a 'retard' is pretty stupid.

30% to 50% of people with cerebral palsy experience some form of cognitive impairment or learning challenge. It is totally unacceptable for someone to call someone with cerebral palsy a retard. Even if her criticism of Sheeran had been less intelligent than than Linehan's criticism of her, which it wasn't.

I don't agree with Tatum's criticism of Sheeran though, even though it was quite clever. We live in an increasingly polarised world and people who can see both sides of an argument get accused of sitting on the fence.

Jon Ronson is someone who can see both sides of an argument and Graham Linehan isn't.