Throughout her decades-long career, the openly gay talent has consistently used her platform to fight for the LGBTQIA+ community and women’s rights.
From slamming the Church of England for not accepting same-sex marriages to co-founding the Women’s Equality Party in 2015, the former Great British Bake Off host has become a force to be reckoned with in the activism sphere.
In a recent interview with iNews, Toksvig continued to showcase her incredible advocacy when she expressed her support for the trans community.
When asked about the rise of anti-trans rhetoric from politicians and public figures, the beloved talent replied: “I am so distressed by people who call themselves ‘radical feminists’ but are anti-trans. I could weep. I don’t get it. It’s beyond me.”
Toksvig went on to open up about her own experiences with discrimination as a lesbian woman within the feminist movement.
“When the feminist movement started in the 60s and 70s, lesbians were often excluded, because we were told that we would make the movement less palatable,” she explained.
“I have been excluded myself, so how could I do that to someone else? It fills me with rage.”
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Of course, it didn’t take long for anti-trans bigots to send hateful messages to the beloved comedian.
Some X (formerly known as Twitter) users took the misogynistic approach – comparing her looks to Stephen Fry and Tom Cruise – while others spewed anti-trans rhetoric and claimed that she was throwing the lesbian community “under the bus.”
Even though Toksvig’s comments resulted in hateful pushback, she has also received heaps of support from LGBTQIA+ fans and allies – with many slamming anti-trans critics and their hypocritical viewpoints.
One X user wrote: “Sandi Toksvig sums up pretty well how I feel as a middle aged gay person. We all carry with us the pain of exclusion (and worse) but the idea that those experiences would compel me to re-enact them on other people *in my community* is quite frankly obscene.”
Another person wrote: “Just a reminder that if you parrot the line “let women speak” over and over again, then get angry when Sandi Toksvig says something you don’t agree with, it shows that it’s not women’s voices you want to hear, just transphobes.”
Despite receiving pushback from various conservative individuals, Toksvig will never let up on using her voice to advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community.
“I’ve been an activist all of my life. It’s a core part of who I am. We’re here, we’re making noise – and we’re not going away,” she told iNews during her aforementioned interview.