Episode 150: Graham Linehan on Comedy, Cancellation, and Being Gender-Critical

Graham Linehan is a five-time BAFTA-winning comedian and writer who created Father Ted, Black Books, and The IT Crowd. He also wrote for The Fast Show, Harry Enfield & Chums, Brass Eye, The Day Today, and Blue Jam, all near-legendary British comedies.Over the past decade, Graham’s life underwent a total transformation. After making his views on gender identity public, his work in the UK dried up, colleagues and friends either stepped away from him or openly denounced him, his marriage ended, and he moved to the United States. From being a pillar of Britain’s creative community, he became a pariah, unemployed and, in the eyes of many within the arts sector, unemployable.He has described himself as “the most hated man on the internet” and he has been accused, like the Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, of sullying his body of work beloved by fans with an unnecessary, unhealthy, unhelpful focus on gender identity.In September 2025, on returning to the UK for a trial related to an altercation with a gender identity activist, Graham was arrested at Heathrow Airport by armed police for three posts on X, formerly Twitter. The stress of the experience led to his hospitalisation; he wrote about it all on his Substack.He joins me in this episode for a free-flowing conversation about how and why he became vocal on the issue of gender identity, the possible roots of his objections, how speech restrictions have affected him, and why limits to free speech sound a death knell for comedy.For more, you can follow Graham on X and subscribe to his Substack, The Glinner Update.1984today.substack.com1984.todayFollow 1984 Today! on X and Instagram This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1984today.substack.com