John Cleese tried to understand the J.K. Rowling criticisms and asked for help

Monty Python actor John Cleese was trying to understand why many were criticizing J.K. Rowling for her comments against the trans community and asked Twitter for an education.

J.K. Rowling has, rightfully, been getting a lot of criticism online for her transphobic remarks and now John Cleese wants to know why. Using his age as a factor, he wants Twitter to share why they are criticizing her and why they think she’s in the wrong.

The thing is: He can Google. But many entertained Cleese and replied to his tweet about resources, where to research, and why her comments were hurtful.

The thing is, this debate is strange for cisgender celebrities to be engaged in. This isn’t about them and when they ask questions like “if I declare myself to be a woman”, they are showing that they very clearly do not understand the trans community or they’re not listening.

PinkNews collected some incredible responses that were helping to educate Cleese on why her comments were taken the way they were online and he still seemed to not grasp the problem with Rowling’s transphobic stance.

I personally have seen a lot of “it’s just her opinion” floating around and to be fair, it’s not simply an “opinion” when it is harmful and dangerous to a group of individuals as Rowling’s transphobia is, especially with our current world and especially within the United States and the laws that President Trump is trying to pass.

What I hope begins to happen is that when actors like Cleese or writers like Rowling want to put themselves in these conversations, they do research and not just one-sided research either. Read trans stories, look at their journey, and begin to see why comments like these are hurtful.

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