Graham Linehan's Speech Must Be Defended
The Irish comedian's arrest by British authorities is an outrage.
Graham Linehan is an Irish comedian, former television writer—he's well-known for creating the sitcoms Father Ted and The IT Crowd—and militant opponent of transgender activism. He was previously banned on Twitter for his strident anti-trans commentary but returned to the platform after Elon Musk acquired it and made the moderation standards more permissive. He openly admits that his involvement in the transgender debate has "consumed my life": He says the backlash to his own activism has led to loss of job opportunities, ruined him financially, and even played a role in ending his marriage.
That's all very sad for him, of course. But people aren't entitled to an audience, or to company in general. If, as a result of Linehan's comedy or political views, nobody wants to hire or be around him, well, them's the breaks.
Linehan does, however, have the right to say such things. Or at least, he ought to have that right. Unfortunately, British authorities arrested and detained Linehan when he arrived in London earlier this week.
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At issue were three posts he wrote on X, including one in which he wrote this: "If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops, and if all else fails, punch him in the balls."
Such a statement is almost certainly protected by the First Amendment. For speech to lose First Amendment protection, it must include a call to imminent lawless action or violence against a particular person. That's not what Linehan is doing; he's telling a crude joke based on his conviction that if you lack the relevant genitalia, you are a man rather than a woman. If this sort of speech were unprotected, then similarly charged calls to, for instance, punch nazis—a staple of far-left rhetoric—could also be criminalized.
The U.K. does not have the First Amendment, however. In Britain, the authorities have broadly criminalized threatening, insulting, and abusive language that causes harassment. Linehan's X posts may very well violate the relevant laws: the Communications Act of 2003 and the Online Safety Act of 2023.
And that's a bad thing, as Linehan's case clearly demonstrates. He possesses views on this subject—that trans women are not women and should steer clear of women-only spaces—that are strongly held by millions of people. He ought to be able to make his case, using crude humor and provocative language as he pleases. This is almost a textbook example of how even small and reasonable-sounding exceptions to an overall free speech–maximalist position will end up creating openings for political censorship: Hate is subjective, and when the government has the power to criminalize it, the authorities will almost certainly do so in broad strokes.
When you can arrest a comedian at the airport for a post on X, you know that the UK has gone for total illiberalism when it comes to free speech. Orwellian doesn't begin to capture this madness:https://t.co/2Fnt5kEIyy
— Michael Shermer (@michaelshermer) September 2, 2025
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance recently criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the U.K.'s more draconian speech policies, as well as European regulators' penchant for pressuring American social media companies to engage in censorship. One can absolutely point to Vance's hypocrisy here—the Trump administration is violating free speech in numerous ways—while still agreeing with his overall point: Europe and the U.K. are too fond of censorship.
In the meantime, the police released Linehan on the condition that he cease posting to X. This is outrageous, and it's heartening to see his treatment attract widespread derision.
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