Barry Humphries defends his right to be offensive

Barry Humphries failed to address the controversy surrounding his comments about transgender people when he appeared on stage in London last night.

His interview at the London Palladium, conducted by Rob Brydon, was his first appearance since his name was stripped from the main award handed out by the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

During the show, Brydon did not mention the outrage caused by Humphries’ description of transgender women as ‘mutilated men’ in a 2016 interview.

However, the 85-year-old did defend his right to be offensive on stage, saying: ‘Comedians aren’t always terribly nice. We don’t have to be nice, do we? We’re not obliged to be nice, we’re generally pretty unsavoury.’

The night was built around the Dame Edna creator selecting some of his favourite comedy moments –including Little Britain.

But he claimed that the chosen clip, in which ‘rubbish transvestite Emily Howard standing at a urinal, was ‘probably the least funny thing in the series.’

According to the Guardian’s review, Matt Lucas, co-writer and co-star of the scene, shouted out: ‘I agree!’ from the stalls.

Published: 29 Apr 2019