Melbourne comedy festival’s top honour renamed over Barry Humphries’ transphobic comments

Melbourne comedy festival’s top honour renamed over Barry Humphries’ transphobic comments

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival has renamed the Barry Award, named for Barry Humphries, following the Dame Edna personality’s transphobic comments.

The prize was rechristened to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award on Monday night ahead of the festival’s nominations announcement on Tuesday.

The award’s nominees this year include trans comedian Cassie Workman for her show Giantess, in which she explores transition through jokes, music, storytelling and illustration.

Also nominated for the prize are out comics Geraldine Hickey, Nath Valvo, and Tom Allen alongside Anne Edmonds and James Acaster.

Humphries made headlines in 2016 when he said of Caitlyn Jenner, “You’re a mutilated man, that’s all. Self-mutilation, what’s all this carry-on?”

He doubled down last year in an interview where he said we was “grateful to Trump for stirring up politics” and claimed that being transgender is “a fashion – how many different kinds of lavatory can you have?”

“And it’s pretty evil when it’s preached to children by crazy teachers.

“They had their genitalia chopped off and tucked in and whatever they had to do,” Humphries said when prompted on his remarks about Jenner.

Last month, Humphries said his past comments had been “grotesquely interpreted”.

“Edna carefully said she thought that men who had themselves castrated did not become women, and that got taken the wrong way,” Humphries said, before labelling political correctness “the new puritanism”.

“Barry Humphries loves those who hold power, hates vulnerable minorities and has completely lost the ability to read the room,” Hannah Gadsby, who won the now-renamed MICF Prize for her renowned show Nanette in 2017, tweeted of Humphries’ comments last year.

“That’s not a comedian, thats an irrelevant, inhumane dick biscuit of the highest order.”

“It is time for the award for most outstanding show to be in our name to celebrate the city that inspired the growth of our festival and its outstanding artists,” MICF director Susan Provan said of the prize’s name change.

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