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David Tennant Gushes About Trans Support & Bigots Seethe Over ‘Doctor Who’s Joyful Story
The Doctor has spoken: We’re in the trans joy era, get into it.
Today is a bad day for anti-trans Doctor Who fans — and we love to see it.
If you are living for the timey-wimey shenanigans of the Time Lord but aren’t down with the way the show and arguably its most popular Doctor embrace trans people, well, unlike the Tardis, you are smaller on the inside — and behind the timey-wimes.
Over the weekend, David Tennant returned to the iconic sci-fi series for the first of a three-part 60th Anniversary Special, “The Star Beast”, which featured a heartwarming and affirming trans storyline. Naturally there was outrage in response. But Tennant is not only not sweating the haters; he’s actively working to support trans rights by speaking out and raising money to help LGBTQ+ youth charities.
Last week, on Transgender Day of Remembrance, Tennant appeared on The One Show, sporting the accessory of the season, a trans-colored Tardis pin, the sales proceeds of which go toward the LGBTQ+ youth charity AKT. After Tennant was seen wearing the pin, it reportedly raised over $22,000.
Tennant gushed about the pin’s designer Dr. Jamie Gallagher when Attitude asked about it on the Rolling Stone UK Awards red carpet.
“It’s just something that I think is rather lovely and important,” said Tennant. “It suits what Doctor Who is all about, so […] the fact that relevant charities are benefiting from it is something that I’m hugely pleased about.”
He went on to talk about how the spirit of Doctor Who is in alignment with the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. “The Doctor has always supported the other, the unusual, the disenfranchised,” he said. “That’s what that show’s about”
And he offered a hopeful message: “Most people are decent, honest, understanding people who just want to live together harmoniously. We just need to banish the noise and banish the hate.”
It’s a message that some of the Doctor Who viewership needs to hear after raging about the first part of the three-part anniversary special. In the episode, Tennant and Catherine Tate return as the Doctor and Donna Noble, respectively. The episode also introduces Donna’s daughter Rose Noble, played by Heartstopper star Yasmin Finney.
The episode does not shy away from Rose’s trans identity — and treats both her gender and the character with love and respect and she even gets to be a hero. So of course ignorant people are popping off on social media about Doctor Who’s woke agenda. Seriously, have they even been watching the show for the last nearly two decades?
Transphobic viewers took to Rotten Tomatoes to express their impotent rage by review-bombing the episode. And of course to X, where they spewed venom under the #RIPDoctorWho hashtag.
We’ll spare you the rhetoric, but here’s the vibe.
Thankfully there was plenty of pushback and celebration of the series and its inclusion of Rose — and hilarious roasting.
Turns out we can have nice things! Part two of the 60th Anniversary Special, “Wild Blue Yonder”, debuts on Saturday, Nov. 25, on Disney+ followed by the final episode, “The Giggle”, on Saturday, Dec. 9. We can’t wait to tune in.
Rachel Shatto, Editor in Chief of PRIDE.com, is an SF Bay Area-based writer, podcaster, and former editor of Curve magazine, where she honed her passion for writing about social justice and sex (and their frequent intersection). Her work has appeared on Dread Central, Elite Daily, Tecca, and Joystiq. She's a GALECA member and she podcasts regularly about horror on the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network. She can’t live without cats, vintage style, video games, drag queens, or the Oxford comma.
Rachel Shatto, Editor in Chief of PRIDE.com, is an SF Bay Area-based writer, podcaster, and former editor of Curve magazine, where she honed her passion for writing about social justice and sex (and their frequent intersection). Her work has appeared on Dread Central, Elite Daily, Tecca, and Joystiq. She's a GALECA member and she podcasts regularly about horror on the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network. She can’t live without cats, vintage style, video games, drag queens, or the Oxford comma.
