David Tennant: women should "shut up"

[jacksonlamb]

As a (now ex) David Tennant fan I was so disappointed to hear his speech yesterday. Whilst talking about trans rights he told his audience that he wanted a world where "we wake up and Kemi Badenoch doesn't exist anymore. I don't wish ill of her, I just wish her to shut up."

(There's some devious doublespeak here: if you wish someone didn't exist, you obviously wish them ill).

But more importantly, how dare he tell women to shut up about women's rights. Yet again powerful and privileged men tell women what they are and are not allowed to say. They must shut up whilst men speak. Their views are wrong, men are right.

Anyone has the right to believe that the rights of trans people are more important than the rights of women (although I believe this is profoundly wrong). What they do not have the right to do is bully, belittle and threaten women who disagree with them; who are trying to protect their hard fought rights.

I despair.

Yep

He didn't say women should shut up. He said Kemi Badenoch (she who opposed moves to protect women attending abortion clinics from harassment) should shut up.

On the contrary. I believe they were very carefully considered. He knew exactly what he was saying.

Really, is the fact that she is black in any way relevant? If she referred to DA (I don't know if that is correct) then she is doing herself (and black women in general) no favours either. You can disagree with someone who is in a position of power and not be racist.

I don't disagree with that, it's more the 'why would we listen to celebs, they're idiots' bit.

I don’t think it’s because she is black, it’s partly because she’s a woman, partly because she’s a Tory and partly because she stands up against MRAs like Tennant.

*PeterPedant *

and in a speech about trans rights you think it’s her views on abortion he was commenting on?

Really? You think he wants someone to kill KB?

No - he's an actor; playing to his crowd, swept up by his own rhetoric. (Then checked himself, hence the 'I don't wish her harm' bit.)

Still an idiot though.

He is a fantastic actor, and I have seen him on stage many times.
But some of his personal views and opinions are disappointing, to say the least.
So, from now on, I will have to separate DT The Actor from DT The Individual..... a common enough experience with artists, performers etc

If someone says they want someone else to “stop existing,” they’re saying they want them dead. I’m an American and I know very little about Kemi Badenoch, but this was a nasty thing for him to say about a fellow human being.

He picked on Badenoch because she's fighting a culture war for political ends and, based on what I've heard of her being interviewed is a thin skinned and arrogant.

He didn't say 'women should shut up'. He said he wished Kemi Badenoch would shut up. And frankly, so do I. She's a vile individual. She doesn't get a free pass from me just because we're both women.

Of course I'm not accusing him of incitement. That would be ridiculous.

I believe he's consciously playing on precisely the arguments the TRAs use against women. Specifically, the claim (which I've never seen made by GC feminists) that not wanting trans women in women's facilities is tantamount to 'not wanting trans people to exist'. And that he's doing this to be deliberately incendiary.

Interesting how often TRAs accuse women of the behaviour they're not above resorting to themselves. It's classic DARVO, and this lobby have it down to a fine art.

He is a sexist arsehole. Firmly and completely.

Where ever you stand on the gender ideology 'debate', there is no excusing his saying he wished Kemi didn't exist.

Absolutely foul.

To add to the John Barrowman reference above, I believe Christopher Eccleston actually did create a row with producers over Noel Clarke ( Mickey the idiot) at the time of his transgressions against women.

Petition to have Eccleston cemented as best modern Dr Who?

WTF do people have to make a race issue out of everything??!! Sometimes POC are dicks the same as sometimes white people are!!

Yes, that struck me as really a jarring comment.

When women politicians are subject to horrible threats and risk just for being visible and vocal, suggesting he wished she 'no longer existed' is highly irresponsible.

Her other views matter. She's on the right wing of the Tory party. She doesn't care about trans rights because she doesn't care about rights generally. This is a situation where her general indifference to rights happens to coincide with your genuinely held beliefs about rights.

She's a stopped clock that happens to be telling the right time for you today.

Very well said. 👏👏👏

Well I am not cancelling David Tennant, I am evicting him. 😁

Ahh ok @SerafinasGoose , I misunderstood you.

I also saw him recently in a trans coloured t shirt that said "You'll have to go through me first"

All of his pronouncements on this subject are notably violence-coded and I find that interesting as well as alarming.

Is it just old-fashioned violent misogynistic tendencies making themselves known in the only way that's acceptable to his level of privilege and social class? Or is it the type of pathetic violent signalling that is sometimes done by men who feel emasculated or frustrated in other areas of their lives (for another example of this see Will Smith and The Slap)? Or is it misdirected and projected fear of what is being done to his child, and what this may say about his parenting?

Who knows, who cares. But he doesn't get to enact his inner psychological distress in wishing violence on women in public life. David, grow up and get thee to a therapist.

Just to clarify.....
We live in a free country.
DT is entitled to express his personal views.
KB is entitled to express her personal views.
Calling anyone "vile" or wishing they "didn't exist" is unacceptable, and an attempt to deny free speech.
Why can't people just debate the issues without taking personal pot shots at each other?

And a thoroughly unpleasant woman, as far as I am concerned.

Dawn Butler agreed with him, so she's evidently a white supremicist.

Literal years and thousands upon thousands of posts and comments on these mn boards have wished, insisted, stated and restated that trans & non binary people don’t exist and they should all shut up about it, and looking forward to the day the world will wake up without trans being a thing any more.

Are we finally acknowledging that saying something like that about a specific person or group of people is in fact harmful?

Because if you’re reading DT’s full transcript and interpreting that as wishing death upon KB, you’ll need to extend that interpretation to an awful lot of regular posters on these boards.

“I suppose if I’m honest I’m a little depressed by the fact that acknowledging that everyone has the right to be who they want to be and live their life how they want to live it as long as they’re not hurting anyone else should merit any kind of special or award or special mention because it’s common sense, isn’t it?” Tennant said in his speech. “It’s human decency. We shouldn’t live in a world where that is worth remarking on. However until we wake up and Kemi Badenoch doesn’t exist anymore — I don’t wish ill of her, I just wish her to shut up — whilst we do live in this world I am honoured to receive this.”