Golden Globe winner Hugh Laurie rejected the idea of biological men competing in women’s sports this week and voiced his support for WNBA guard Sophie Cunningham.
The comments came during an exchange with comedian Graham Linehan, who pressed Laurie to clarify his views after the actor initially posted a dry observation on X about biological height advantage in professional basketball.
Linehan called Laurie’s indirect wording “cowardly” in a now-deleted post, prompting the actor to deliver a blunt response.
Laurie, best known for playing Dr. Gregory House in the hit drama “House,” then clarified his position on X.
“Firstly, f— off; secondly no, I don’t believe men should compete against women. I thought I’d made that pretty clear. If you’d looked. But obviously you must get onto your next,” he wrote.
Linehan pressed Laurie further, telling him to “just say that you support Sophie Cunningham in her fight for fair sports and stop trying to be arch.” Laurie responded:
“You started it. ‘Cowardly’ to ‘f— off’ is the going rate of exchange around here. And yes, I support Sophie Cunningham. And you, some of the time,” Laurie posted Monday.
Linehan then apologized for his reaction, writing, “Fair dos. I apologise for my knee-jerkiness. And thank you. I would never have had what career I had without ‘A Bit Of Fry and Laurie’ to aspire towards.”
The subsequent X exchange quickly went viral, racking up millions of views as users debated Laurie’s stance. Some criticized the actor for opposing transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, while others praised the Hollywood star for publicly supporting women’s sports.
Comedian and political commentator Tim Young told Fox News Digital that Laurie’s established career gives him more freedom to voice his opinion without fear of being canceled.
“It’s so rare that someone from Hollywood would stand up for women in women’s sports that it’s exciting when someone does at this point. Hugh Laurie, aka Dr. House, simply said he stood with Sophie Cunningham, and now he gets to see the ugly side of the left for the first time,” Young said, adding, “Laurie can’t be canceled.”
Young also argued that financial considerations can influence what performers say publicly: “Comedians always stand at the forefront of social commentary, but many of their opinions come from who pays them. Here we see someone established like Laurie against someone who is afraid of being canceled. I think that’s a heavier factor than anything else.”
“Unfortunately, a lot of times, comedians, albeit the loudest among the people, are some of the dumbest: same with actors and musicians, and similar to every other issue, you should side here with common sense, not what the famous guy said,” Young said. “This time it just so happens that he’s right and my favorite TV doctor of all time,” he added.
The debate over transgender athletes competing in women’s sports has taken center court in the WNBA, where Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has recently said women and girls should not have to compete against biological men.
Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Laurie and Linehan but did not immediately hear back.
