Vocal anti-trans writer and “The IT Crowd” creator Graham Linehan has demanded a public apology from Bill Maher for calling him a “crank” on a September episode of HBO’s “Real Time.”
During the episode in question, Maher discussed Linehan’s arrest a month ago at Heathrow airport. The Irish writer was apprehended at the time on suspicion of trying to incite violence against trans people with his social media posts, including one in which Linehan encouraged his followers to punch trans women “in the balls” if they are in female-only spaces.
On Sept. 12, Maher recapped Linehan’s arrest during a “Real Time” segment about free speech, telling viewers that the sitcom writer was arrested because “he’s a crank who spends way too much time online ranting about gender ideology.” In a lengthy X post shared Sunday, Linehan explained why he took issue with Maher’s comments and why he waited weeks to respond to them.
“Your words hurt — they always do when they come from establishment figures with the platforms and protections I’ve never had,” Linehan wrote. “But I didn’t wait because of that. I waited because the sheer audacity of what you did demanded a measured response: calling a fellow journalist a ‘crank’ for investigating a story you’ve ignored for a decade.”
The “IT Crowd” creator claimed that Maher’s characterization of him was “both unfair and callous” and that it made light of his role in the wider, public gender ideology discussion. “You call my approach ugly. If I am ugly, it is because I am covering an ugly topic whilst receiving ugly threats, and whilst journalists and humorists like yourself have left their posts,” Linehan claimed. “Throughout all this, I have remained at my post. You never even turned up for duty.”
During his “Real Time” segment, Maher negatively compared Linehan to J.K. Rowling and Dave Chappelle, two celebrities who have come under fire in recent years for their anti-trans views and jokes.
“Linehan may be crude, but there’s plenty of non-crazy people, liberal people, who think the Left has gone a little mad with trans issues,” Maher said. “Some have expressed that opinion with literary sophistication, like J. K. Rowling. Some by getting big laughs, like Dave Chappelle, and some are downright ugly about it, like Linehan. But ugly is the price of a freedom so great as speech.”
Linehan was not moved by Maher’s comment advocating for his right to say what he wants however he wants. “In the same segment where you condemned my arrest for speaking, you called me a crank for what I said,” the writer explained. “You’re defending the principle whilst attacking the person who actually used it, proving you’re no friend to those who risk everything by speaking up.”
“I am asking you now to do the right thing. Issue a public apology on ‘Real Time’ — the same platform where you defamed me,” Linehan concluded. “Acknowledge that calling me a ‘crank’ was wrong, and that my work on this issue has been substantive and necessary. I believe you’re capable of recognizing when you’ve been unfair to someone, particularly a fellow comedian and journalist who has been doing difficult work under difficult circumstances.”
Elsewhere in his X post, Linehan characterized his arrest at Heathrow airport as “the latest in a pattern of police harassment orchestrated by trans activists.” In May, Linehan pleaded not guilty to harassing an 18-year-old trans woman online. The trial surrounding the case began in September in the U.K. before being temporarily adjourned. It is set to resume on Oct. 29.
