Amanda Abbington hits back at transphobia accusations after joining Strictly Come Dancing lineup
‘Sherlock’ actor was the first celebrity to be announced as a competitor in BBC dance programme
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Amanda Abbington has denied claims that she is transphobic ahead of her taking part in the forthcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing.
The Sherlock actor was recently revealed as the first of several celebrities to be taking part in the long-running ballroom dance competition show.
Others who are set to compete in the BBC programme this autumn are broadcaster Angela Rippon, actor Layton Williams, Channel 4 News anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy, and comedian Eddie Kadi.
Since Abbington’s announcement, some potential Strictly viewers have expressed concern over her involvement in the series following her tweets earlier this year about drag queens.
In March, Abbington, 49, reacted to footage from a baby sensory and cabaret show aimed at parents and their infants from birth to two years old.
Sharing the video of a performance, the actor wrote that it was “not for babies” and added that “if you think it is, there is something fundamentally wrong with you”. After receiving backlash from people who disagreed with her take, Abbington left Twitter and has remained off the platform ever since.
On Sunday (6 August), Abbington shared a video on Instagram responding to questions about her involvement and her opinion of drag performers.
“Now, I need to make this clear – I love drag. I think it’s an amazing form of entertainment and I f***ing love drag queens, I think they’re hilarious and brilliant and it’s an art form,” she began.
“And 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. He was wonderful in it.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
“But, my tweet back in March was regarding a 12-year-old who was 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 over-sexualised and I didn’t think it was right.”
After denying that her response to the drag performance had any relation to her feelings towards trans people, Abbington said: “I’m not transphobic, I’m not a transphobic person. I’m a firm supporter of the legitimate trans community, I always have been.”
The Safe star went on to say she thinks the transgender community has been “infiltrated by some people who want to cause damage and want to cause trouble, and pit people against each other”.
Abbington stated that she “would support any trans person who is feeling persecuted or not listened to or not seen”.
The Independent has reached out to a representative of Amanda Abbington and the BBC for further comment.