Actor Richard Ayoade and television host Jonathan Ross are facing criticism after it emerged their book endorsements featured prominently in a book by controversial Irish writer Graham Linehan.

Linehan, who created or co-created sitcoms including Father Ted And black books, will soon publish a memoir entitled Tough Crowd: How I Made and Lost a Career in Comedy.

He fell from grace after several incidents in which he expressed anti-transgender or transphobic views, including comparing the use of puberty blockers to Nazi eugenics and experiments on children.

Linehan has repeatedly expressed his belief that he was a victim of cancel culture and that his views caused him to lose his job and divorce.

Difficult crowd will delve into these topics and feature the 55-year-old berating “an industry where there was no one to support him when he needed help.”

Some early reviews of the book were included as part of its online marketing. One notable name cited alongside the memoir is Linehan’s former IT crowd colleague, Ayoade, who played shy IT technician Maurice Moss in the Channel 4 comedy.

Ayoade’s quote reads: “Graham Linehan has long been one of my favorite writers – and this book shows that his talent in prose is equal to his talent as a screenwriter. It unfolds with the urgency of a Sam Fuller film: that of a man who experienced something few people have experienced but who managed to come back, intrepid, to tell us the story.

A review by Ross hails Linehan as “one of the best TV comedy writers of all time.” The quote goes on to state that the book is “must-read for anyone who has ever wondered: a) how to create a successful sit-com and b) what it’s like to lose everything.” It’s funny, complicated and absolutely convincing.”

On Thursday (September 14), Ayoade’s name was trending in the UK on Twitter/X after several social media users shared a screenshot of his quote endorsing the memoir.

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Journalist and transgender activist India Willoughby wrote: “Richard Ayoade’s endorsement of Graham Linehan is truly disappointing – because at this stage of the gender wars it would take a lot of cognitive dissonance not to see Glinner for who he is East. »

Elsewhere, another social media user remarked: “I think Richard Ayoade sympathizes with exactly one thing here, which is his mate having media to promote. »

When approached by The independent, a representative for Richard Ayoade declined to comment. A representative for Jonathan Ross did not immediately respond.

Linehan has repeatedly described the trans “movement” as “pedophilic,” and in 2020 he was banned from X/Twitter for “violating the hateful conduct rules.”

His profile was reinstated – alongside a number of other controversial figures including former US President Donald Trump and rapper Kanye West – when Elon Musk took over the social media platform at the end of the last year.

In April 2023, he was temporarily suspended from Twitter again after joking about killing protesters at an anti-trans rally in Belfast.

Last October, it was revealed that the number of transphobic hate crimes in the UK had increased. increased by 56 percent from the previous yearwith a Home Office report linking the increase to discussions on social media.

Talk to The temperature this year, Linehan denied disliking trans people. He said: “Trans is very loosely defined. It appears to cover both Eddie Izzard and a 16-year-old girl with dysphoria. You have to understand the difference between a transsexual who has experienced something immense in his life and someone who puts on black nail polish and tries to enter women’s homes.

“As we keep emphasizing, we only talk about the places where conflicts erupt. My point has never changed. It’s about women in prison, women in rape crisis centers, women in locker rooms. It’s about children. This is homophobia. This is an incredible new form of sexism that, in my opinion, is the worst that has ever existed. I’ve never seen anything like it. I have never seen this kind of hatred and aggression towards women.