Strictly Amanda Abbington’s ‘transphobic’ controversy as BBC viewers ‘boycott’ series

Strictly Come Dancing star Amanda Abbington is setting the dance floor on fire at the moment.

Partnered up with Giovanni Pernice, the pair have been making waves on the glitzy BBC One show. So much so that they’ve been doing pretty good on the leaderboard, thanks to their jaw-dropping routines.

Best known for roles in Sherlock and Mr Selfrdige, away from the Strictly studios, the 49-year-old has an acting career that spans over two decades. She was also in a 16-year relationship with actor Martin Freeman.

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But while Amanda has won many fans for her on-screen performances, when it comes to her online opinions, they’ve not always been so well received. The mum-of-two has previously been banned from X, formerly known as Twitter, for controversial comments regarding trans people – but she has insisted she’s not transphobic.

So, as Amanda gets stuck into the 21st series of Strictly, Daily Star is taking a look inside her “transphobic” controversy.

What has Amanda said?

Back in 2020, during a post on Facebook, she reportedly wrote, “You cannot have a penis and want to be referred to as a woman,” according to Deadline. Amanda later addressed these comments and called her post “stupid” and “ill informed.”

On X, formerly known as Twitter, she also allegedly wrote: “If you don’t actually have proper, real breast milk in your breasts, just don’t try and breastfeed your baby.”

Then in March this year, Amanda spoke out about a cabaret for parents and babies. The show included topless performers and drag acts with raunchy names that were described as “highly sexualised”.

Amanda called out the show and wrote on X: “I’m really broad minded but nah. This is bulls**t. Not for f**en babies. And if you think it is, there is something fundamentally wrong with you.”

After being accused of transphobia, she followed up with: “I lost quite a few followers for saying that a semi-naked man in thigh high boots dancing in a highly sexualised way shouldn’t be performing in front of babies and it tells me everything I need to know about where society is heading. How do you not agree with me on this????”

Speaking out

Amanda’s resurfaced comments soon made their rounds online, once she was confirmed to be taking part in Strictly. And it’s fair to say fans were not happy with her casting. So much so, that the TV star uploaded a video on Instagram speaking out about the backlash and her alleged transphobic views. In the lengthy video, she insisted she wasn’t transphobic.

The Strictly contestant told her followers: “Apparently I’m trending on Twitter because people are gonna boycott Strictly I think because of a tweet I made back in March regarding a drag show. I need to make this very clear I love drag, I f**** love drag queens and I think they’re hilarious and it’s an art form. I think there’s absolutely a place for it in the entertainment industry. My son played Jamie in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and he was a wonderful drag queen.

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“But my tweet back in March was regarding a 12-year-old doing it in front of adults and it just upset me because I saw a kid, a little kid, a 12-year-old doing something very oversexualised and I didn’t think it was right. Personally speaking I don’t think 12-year-olds should be performing in drag shows in overtly sexual ways because they’re 12 and they need a childhood, it’s nice for kids to have a childhood and grow up and find that out when they’re old enough to understand it. And that was my tweet.”

She added: “I didn’t associate that with the trans community nor would I because I think they’re two separate things. I’m not transphobic, I’m a firm supporter of the legitimate trans community I always have been.

“I think they have been infiltrated by some people who want to cause damage and want to cause trouble and pit people off against one another and cause as much harm as possible. But I would support any trans person who is feeling persecuted or not listened to or not seen, of course I would.”

‘I’m not a nasty person’

Amanda went on: “I’m not a nasty person I’m really not. Anybody who knows me knows I’d give you my last tenner if you needed it. I’m not a hateful person and I support the trans community and I support women’s rights and I support the importance of women within society and I think those two are really being pitted against one another and what we need to do is make sure everybody is looking after each out.

“It’s f**** toxic out there. It’s horrible, it’s really horrible. I don’t want everybody to be at each other’s throats. I do think we need to look after kids and I’ve wanted that for years.

“I did a STUPID comment a few years ago, I can’t even remember how long ago it was, and I was ill informed and it was a stupid thing to write and I apologised and I did my research and I’m much more informed now. But the idea that I would go after a community that are very sensitive and, just that I would go after a legitimate trans community, is not great. I think everybody needs to look after each other a bit more and not go after each other in a negative and horrible way. It’s not, particularly now.

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It’s so toxic out there. I’ve said stupid things, of course I have, and instantly regretted them. Everybody is learning and we need to take a breath and take a beat. I’m sorry if you feel you need to boycott Strictly for a tweet I made about a drag show but I don’t think 12-year-olds should be doing overly sexualised drag acts. That’s my personal opinion that’s all.

“But I didn’t associate it with the trans community, nor would I, I’m an ally of the LGBT community. I’m an ally of women’s rights and I’m an ally of kids being kids and I’m an ally of just live and let live and making sure that we all look after each other and hold each other up.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk