Father Ted creator Graham Linehan is suspended from Twitter after stating ‘men aren’t women’ in reply to transgender Pride post
- Graham Linehan’s account has been suspended for breaching the site’s rules
- He allegedly wrote ‘men aren’t women tho’ on a Women’s Institute Tweet
- A post appearing to come from Mr Linehan said he would appeal the suspension
Father Ted creator Graham Linehan is the latest high profile user to be suspended from Twitter for after the site said it breached rules on using banned words.
The Irish sitcom writer appears to have been banned for using the word ‘groomer’ in a years old post which was found by trans rights activists after he got embroiled in an argument with them.
It comes a week after Kate Hopkins was banned from Twitter for unspecified violations of its user conduct policy.
Mr Linehan has gained notoriety in recent years for his vocal opinions on transgender rights and feminism, and he yesterday wrote ‘men aren’t women tho’ in response to a Tweet wishing a happy Pride to transgender Women’s institute members.
Earlier this morning, Mr Linehan took to online forum Mumsnet and a post appearing to be written by him said he will be appealing his Twitter suspension.
Father Ted creator Graham Linehan has been suspended from Twitter for after breaching the social media site’s rules on using banned words. The writer allegedly wrote ‘men aren’t women tho’ in a in response to a Tweet wishing a happy Pride to transgender Women’s institute members
Mr Linehan’s @Glinner account cannot be searched for on the social media platform. A post on Mumsnet appearing to come from the writer
The post said: ‘Im [sic] really sorry to barge in on you Mumsnetters with my problems, but I’ve finally been suspended from Twitter and I have a feeling they’re either going to ban me or just take my verified tick.
‘I’ve submitted an appeal with Twitter and the Better Business Bureau but I thought I’d post here too so people knew what was going on.
‘Recently, I keep getting locked out of my account and forced to delete tweets to get back in.’
One person responded to the post saying Mr Linehan should not be writing in a ‘women’s space’.
She wrote: ‘Sorry who are you and why should I care that you have been banned from Twitter?
‘You seem to be a man by the looks of it so why are you posting in a feminism forum?
‘This is a female space.’
Last week, Mr Linehan lost his verified account status on Twitter after a series of his Tweets accusing an LGBTQ+ group of grooming were reported.
But the The IT Crowd writer regained his account verification before it was suspended and Twitter confirmed he had been unverified in error at the time.
His Twitter suspension has been met with mixed opinions on social media.
Author Bethany Sutter said: ‘I can’t stop laughing at Glinner going to cry on Mumsnet about getting booted off twitter and someone being like “why should we care about you since you’re a man and this is a women’s space”.’
BAFTA-winning digital artist Dan Hett wrote: ‘The icing on the cake here is glinner heading to mumsnet to cry about getting banned, at 3am, and being told to f*** off.’
But broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer came out in defence of Mr Linehan.
She wrote: ‘This is bloody ridiculous. They’re coming for us one by one.
‘Stating biological facts is NOT a crime.
‘Please join me in protesting to Twitter about the suspension of @glinner.’
Mr Linehan has previously denied being transphobic and spoken about the hate he has received for broadcasting his opinions.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday earlier this year, Mr Linehan said: ‘Today I am one of the most loathed figures on the internet.
‘My speaking events have been cancelled. I have been sued.
‘The police have visited my home and former friends have turned their backs on me.’
He defended Harry Potter writer JK Rowling this month when she was accused of transphobia.
Mr Linehan posted a link to a blog article with screenshots of the abuse the writer received after her Tweets about transgender people.
Mr Linehan has previously denied being transphobic and spoken about the hate he has received for broadcasting his opinions. Pictured: Father Ted Star Dermot Morgan in the title role
An example of some of Linehan’s recent tweets on the subject of sexuality and trans rights
Last year, he told Metro: ‘Your sex is not assigned, your sex is observed and recorded. I follow a lot of intersex people on Twitter, and they are sick of being weaponised in this way by the ideology.
‘Even they believe that sex is observed, not assigned. I do [believe in gender dysphoria] and it’s a very serious thing, but the current widening of the definition actually puts these people in danger.
‘Real transexuals will not receive the help they need because they are being flooded by all sorts of different types.’