Man nominated for female comedy performance award

A transgender activist has been shortlisted in the female category for a prestigious TV award.

The Royal Television Society (RTS) nominated Jordan Gray for his ‘female’ comedy performance in Transaction — a sitcom about a transgender supermarket employee.

In 2022, Gray courted controversy when he exposed himself during a profanity-filled pro-trans song on Channel 4’s Friday Night Live.

Not funny

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Michael Deacon commented: “Admittedly, some viewers may be surprised that Gray appears in any category, after the panning that Transaction took from newspaper TV critics.”

He added: “The celebrity world, as we all know, is filled with famous women who proudly proclaim their support for gender ideology. But will they be feeling quite so inclusive now that they’ve seen this shortlist?

“After all, Gray’s place on the four-person female shortlist could have gone to a performer who is actually female. And if you were a female performer who’d missed out, wouldn’t you find this a touch unfair?”

Gray, who created and wrote Transaction, is up for the award alongside female comedians Katherine Parkinson, Lucy Punch and Philippa Dunne.

Unhelpful messaging

Last year, Glamour UK came under fire for selecting a group of nine men as winners of its Women of the Year award.

The cover of the women’s magazine featured the group of trans activists posing in ‘Protect the Dolls’ crop tops and T-shirts. ‘Doll’ is a contentious slang term referring to certain men who identify as female.

The choice was widely criticised on social media, with J.K Rowling posting: “I grew up in an era when mainstream women’s magazines told girls they needed to be thinner and prettier. Now mainstream women’s magazines tell girls that men are better women than they are.”