Graham Linehan joined a queer women’s dating app to share trans people’s profiles. It backfired, badly
Graham Linehan. (Getty/ Rob Monk/Edge Magazine)
A dating app for women and queer people has been forced to clarify that trans women are welcome after Graham Linehan set up an account and shared images of users’ profiles.
The disgraced Father Ted creator joined Her, a dating app designed to “connect womxn and queer people”, and shared a screenshot of his profile on his personal blog.
On his fake Her profile, Linehan says he identifies as “lesbian/queer/questioning” and claims he uses she and her pronouns.
In a second blog post, Linehan shared screenshots of various women and non-binary people’s profiles from Her, declaring that they should not be on the app because they are “not lesbians”.
Linehan posted screenshots of 20 separate profiles from the app and suggested that they should not be using Her, despite the fact that the app welcomes them.
The dating app did not specifically name Linehan in its response, but tweeted: “Let’s make this clear: HER is an app for ALL WOMEN and queer folx. It is not our, nor anyone else’s place to question or invalidate another’s identity. We are here for ALL WOMEN, including the trans community.”
They continued: “Please be assured this user will be found and removed from our platform.”
They went on to note that they have been in touch with the blogging platform where Linehan shared the images, saying they are working to have the “dangerous act of transphobia” removed.
Linehan responded to posting on his blog that he had “updated” his profile on Her, sharing an edited image of himself.
Graham Linehan faces backlash after joining Her dating app
He also shared screenshots of Her’s tweets, and wrote: “As a lesbian and queer person (which now means straight), an I appalled at this attempt to invalidate my identity.”
Graham Linehan went on to baselessly claim that trans people using the app puts cis women “in danger”.
The former comedy writer is facing strident backlash on social media over his blog posts.
https://twitter.com/KatyMontgomerie/status/1362782577141178371
For my twitter people who don’t follow the transphobia wars, just a heads up about the point we’ve reached: TV’s popular Graham Linehan is joining lesbian dating apps in order to ‘make a point’ and/or screenshot all the women he finds insufficiently feminine for his tastes pic.twitter.com/dr3mthuljm
— Generic English Teacher (@TabitaSurge) February 20, 2021
Lazy Sunday morning here, feed kids, guitar lesson, check Twitter…..normal stuff
This is what Graham Linehan has been doing, setting up a dating profile on trans inclusive women's dating site 'Her'
Transphobia is poison for the soul, don't be like Graham pic.twitter.com/2N8Uv1ITF1— Mousely Logical 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (@BlueMouseEeek) February 21, 2021
*opens Twitter*
"Graham Linehan? What's he done now? Oh, bloody hell."— Mahatma Jane Leeves (@AlanKelloggs) February 21, 2021
https://twitter.com/rawdenim420/status/1363217128774504448
PinkNews has contacted Graham Lineman, the blogging platform Substack and Her for comment.
The latest incident is far from Linehan’s first controversy. A formerly acclaimed comedy writer, he seemingly gave up his career to instead join the “fight” against trans activists.
He was finally banned from Twitter in June 2020 for repeatedly violating the social media platform’s rules against hateful conduct after he accused an LGBT+ group of “grooming”.
Twitter opted to make his ban permanent after he tweeted “men aren’t women tho” in response to a Women’s Institute post wishing a happy Pride to all of their transgender members.
In December 2020, Linehan returned briefly to Twitter, where he set up a fake account pretending to be a trans person.
Using the fake account, Linehan accused Amnesty Ireland executive director Colm O’Gorman of being a “traitor” because of his organisation’s support for the trans community.
The account was suspended just over an hour after he admitted to being Graham Linehan.
