Dr Who star tells Equalities Minister to "shut up" over trans issues

'Dr Who' actor David Tennant, 53, has become embroiled in a row with Harry Potter author JK Rowling and UK politicians after saying that the Conservative Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch should “shut up” regarding her outspoken views on trans rights.

The former Time Lord and star of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was being awarded "Celebrity Ally" at the 2024 British LGBT Awards as “one of the community’s most fierce allies and supporters” when he hit out at critics of trans issues. He told members of the LGBTQ+ community backstage that “most people in the world don’t really care” about the issue, adding, “It’s a tiny bunch of little whinging f****** (that) are on the wrong side of history and they’ll all go away soon.”

Tennant made specific reference to Badenoch onstage, according to the Daily Mail, saying, “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 honored to receive this.” Pride, he pointed out, was about “human decency” and “common sense.”

Badenoch punched back on X: “I will not shut up. I will not be silenced by men who prioritize applause from Stonewall [LGBTQ+ organization] over the safety of women and girls. A rich, lefty, white male celebrity so blinded by ideology he can’t see the optics of attacking the only black woman in government by calling publicly for my existence to end.”

Tennant’s comments prompted a sharp rap over the knuckles from British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, who was quoted in The Daily Telegraph saying, “Freedom of speech is the most powerful feature of our democracy. If you are calling for women to ‘shut up’ and wishing they didn’t exist, you are the problem.”

'Harry Potter' creator JK Rowling, who has been vocal in taking issue with trans rights, has weighed in on X. “This man is talking about rape survivors who want female-only care," she said. "And women losing sporting opportunities to males and female prisoners incarcerated with convicted sex offenders."

Rowling has also caustically criticized the political correctness surrounding the trans issue, writing on X in reference to Tennant: “But the utterances of the Gender Taliban receive special dispensation, for they are a holy caste.”

Tennant’s condemnation of Badenoch stems from the Equality Minister’s push to rework the Equality Act so that it limits protection against discrimination based on a person’s sex to that person’s biological sex and not to those who have not biologically transitioned but identify as a different gender from their birth gender.

In a blunt and provocative summing up of her party’s decision to reform the Equality Act in an interview on LBC Radio, Badenoch put it like this: “Changing your clothes doesn’t change who you are.”

Badenoch was reported in The Guardian, claiming that “the protection of women’s and girls’ space is too important to allow the confusion to continue,” but her stance has drawn widespread criticism from the LGBTQ+ community and its supporters, such as Tennant.

Tipped to be the next Conservative leader, Badenoch – whose heroes include Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher – has campaigned vociferously against the trans inclusion policy and has shown scant support for the LGBTQ+ community despite her role as Equality Minister, though JK Rowling has rushed to her defense, flagging up on X that “Badenoch is also Minister for Women and Equalities.”

Badenoch’s proposed changes to the Equality Act would mean that single sex establishments could refuse transgender people access unless they had biologically transitioned. But the reforms would only happen if the Conservatives won the upcoming election on July 4, which seems unlikely as the socialist Labour Party has a 20% lead over the Conservatives in the polls.

The man who will likely be Britain's next prime minister, Labour leader Keir Starmer, plans to modernize the transition process, making it easier. But he distanced himself from the 'Dr Who' star, according to The Guardian, telling supporters in the runup to the election: “I wouldn’t have engaged in the way that he did. I think it’s right that we have these robust discussions, but we must do it respectfully.”

But Badenoch warned on X, “Tennant is one of Labour’s celebrity supporters. This is an early example of what life will be like if they win.” Her fury over trans issues has driven her to claim that the number of gay children being pushed to transition has reached “almost epidemic” proportions. “No child is born in the wrong body,” she claimed in a fiery parliamentary debate.

Badenoch admits there has been a rise in hate crime against members of the transgender community (11% up from last year), but maintains that this is strongly linked to a lot of predators exploiting rules that are made for trans people.

Earlier this month, JK Rowling maintained that women's rights are facing the greatest assault in my lifetime. Responding to criticism from people on the other side of the gender debate, including 'Harry Potter' star Daniel Radcliffe who made it clear in an interview with The Atlantic that Rowling views do not represent those of actors linked to the franchise, the 58-year-old author wrote on X that she should have spoken out “far sooner” and would be 'ashamed for the rest of my days' if she was not doing so now.

But the UK is already seen as lagging behind the rest of Europe when it comes to trans rights, according to a report from Euronews. The countries furthest ahead on the issue include Malta, Spain, Iceland, and Finland while those at the at the other end of the scale include Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Belarus and Latvia.

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