To the surprise of nobody, journalist Andrew Neil doesn’t seem to know how pronouns work
Ex-BBC presenter Andrew Neil is using his free time to mock people for displaying their pronouns. (BBC)
Andrew Neil, the old guard journalist and former BBC interviewer, apparently has no clue how pronouns work.
Neil was trading barbs on Twitter with left-wing activist George Aylett Tuesday evening (17 November) over the reinstatement of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to the party, when he attempted to dunk on him by mocking his pronouns.
“Whatever you say, he/him,” he wrote.
Whatever you say he/him. https://t.co/Kw5ArTLiNg
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) November 17, 2020
Neil, who, we guess, must not not have pronouns, was attacking Aylett for listing his in his Twitter bio – a simple gesture done in solidarity with the trans community – and his tweet was met with tired frustration.
https://twitter.com/mattlodder/status/1328825321790042119
https://twitter.com/chrisstaley_/status/1329005651985637376
whatever you say gammon/gammon https://t.co/FNRIzx1cgK— lisan al-jaib (@B0DYHAMMER) November 17, 2020
This just in: Andrew Neil does not use pronouns as he is a genderless amorphous blob. https://t.co/loCKnhspAH— max (@ricciardify) November 17, 2020
Aylett hit back at Neil as well as a volley of troll accounts, stressing that having pronouns in your bio really is not a big deal and pointing it out is not the witty takedown Neil apparently thought it was.
Do you not have any pronouns, Andrew? https://t.co/bf4TGE4YHa— George Aylett (@GeorgeAylett) November 17, 2020
You’ve done 14 tweets about me within half an hour. Relax.
Also trying to dunk on somebody for having pronouns in their bio isn’t the own you think it is.. https://t.co/kHKLxk1V1D
— George Aylett (@GeorgeAylett) November 18, 2020
Nothing wrong with wearing a mask or having pronouns in my bio – although I might start charging for the space in your head that I’m living rent free inside right now.. https://t.co/Qifj8BEX0y— George Aylett (@GeorgeAylett) November 18, 2020
Neil quit the BBC this year to become chair of the soon-to-launch Fox News-style broadcaster GB News.
He remains chair of The Spectator, which has been widely criticised for running anti-trans content. Recently he feuded with Co-op after the supermarket pulled future advertising over the issue. The chain later U-turned.
Misgendering a trans person by using the wrong pronouns can cause increased dysphoria and mental health problems.
It has been proven that consistently using the correct name and pronouns for trans people can reduce their rates of anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts to almost the same levels as their cisgender counterparts.
What prompted Andrew Neil to mock George Aylett’s pronouns?
The saga began when Andrew Neil took aim at Labour’s governing body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), over its move to readmit Corbyn after he suggested that problems with the party’s handling of antisemitism allegations had been “overstated.”
Neil, 71, sought to contrast the readmission with the comings and goings at Downing Streets where fierce infighting has prompted two of Tory prime minister Boris Johnson’s most powerful advisers to quit.
Jeremy Corbyn. (Christopher Furlong/Getty)
After a wave of criticism over the role hard-line Brexit aides play in government, Johnson’s communications adviser Lee Cain resigned – with top aide Dominic Cummings departing days after.
“What are you talking about?” Aylett questioned.
“Labour have ended a potential civil war whilst the Conservative one is just starting.”
While an NEC disciplinary panel had decided to readmit Corbyn, the power to allow him back to the party benches in parliament belongs to leader Keir Starmer.
It was a move he ultimately refused, with Starmer saying Wednesday (18 November) that he will not be restoring the whip to Corbyn.
