Barry Humphries

Humphries attracted strong criticism after describing gender reassignment surgery in extremely negative terms, attacking Caitlyn Jenner and then calling the transgender phenomenon a 'fad'. In 2019, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival removed his name from its principal award; management confirmed that his statements had contributed to the decision.

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Personally implicated

Asked about allegations of inappropriate behaviour against Geoffrey Rush, Humphries considered them unfair and played down some physical contact between actors on stage as potentially part of the profession.

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Personally implicated

In a Radio Times interview, Humphries suggested that Downton Abbey was popular in the United States 'because there are no Black people' in the series, as part of a broader criticism of what he called television's new puritanism.

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Personally implicated

Humphries defended University of Sydney professor Barry Spurr after emails containing racist and insulting terms were published. He maintained that the remarks were deliberately outrageous humour and that Australia was losing its sense of humour.

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Personally implicated

In an 'Ask Dame Edna' column in Vanity Fair, Barry Humphries' character advised a reader against learning Spanish, using wording suggesting that it was a language spoken by domestic staff. Latin American organisations and readers condemned the column.

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Directly implicated