Graham Linehan testifies to Congress on UK free speech and culture war issues
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Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan, who has faced criticism for his comments on transgender issues, testified before Congress on Wednesday, arguing that freedom of speech struggles in the United Kingdom have left “ordinary people” without clear leadership as they grapple with culture-war conflicts.
Linehan previewed his message during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” earlier the same day, criticizing U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer for avoiding the debate over transgender policies now playing out in the courts, on the streets and online.
“We have a Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, who says he will end the culture wars,” Linehan said. “And all he does is hide from them. So actually ordinary people are fighting the culture wars every day in the UK.”
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Comedy writer and journalist Graham Linehan testifies about “Europe’s Threat to American Speech and Innovation” at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2026. The hearing highlighted how European censorship laws could affect freedom of expression in the United States. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Linehan blamed what he called “cowardly leadership” for failing to provide clear guidance, noting three cases involving nurses who he said were harassed, labeled as bigots and professionally threatened.
“They never admitted they were wrong,” she said, describing a dispute involving women who said they were asked to undress in front of a man.
Linehan also said she couldn’t find a job after citing “essential feminism” rooted in the suffrage movement.
The comedy writer was briefly arrested for criticizing Britain’s transgender policies before police dropped the charges.
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Graham Linehan poses with a banner that reads “There is no such thing as a transgender child” outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London, England on September 4, 2025. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
She advocated for single-sex spaces for women on Fox & Friends and claimed that allowing “men who identify as women” into women-only spaces amounted to “a contract for predators.”
“Of course, this doesn’t mean that all trans-identified people are predators,” he said. “But not all men are predators either. But we keep them out of women’s restrooms for reasons that were established 100 years ago.”
Linehan said her life was “kind of destroyed by trans activists.”
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“I had to watch the next 10 years as my colleague condemned me in the press for things they could never explain,” he said.
