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Actor and comedian John Cleese tweeted Sunday that men have an "unfair advantage" against biological women in sports, a sentiment shared by an increasing number of left-leaning voices as the issue becomes increasingly controversial.
Responding to a tweet from GB News journalist Martin Daubney, Cleese called out transgender cyclist Cara Dixon, who recently won the women's category at the Dirty Riever gravel race in the U.K.
Dixon outpaced the competition, beating second place by over an hour.
John Cleese, an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer speaks at Pendulum Summit, Worlds Leading Business & Self Empowerment Summit, in Dublin Convention Center. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
"Bloke who pretends to be a woman thrashes nearest actual female cyclist by ONE HOUR - yet would have been 19th in the men's race, where he belongs," Daubney captioned his tweet.
"It's time to end the cruel, unfair charade of biological men in women's sports!"
"Biological men in women's sports have an unfair advantage," Cleese responded, weighing in among many who found the outcome unsettling.
On Daubney's thread, some called for Dixon to be disqualified and labeled them as a "cheat."
Others, however, criticized Daubney's allegedly "transphobic" take, with some arguing that the race was insignificant since it was untimed and offered no rewards for winning.
On Cleese's thread, trans activists also criticized the opinion that biological men hold an "unfair advantage" when competing among women.
JOHN CLEESE SPEAKS OUT AGAINST CANCEL CULTURE, SAYS IT ‘MISUNDERSTANDS THE MAIN PURPOSE OF LIFE’
Comedy legend John Cleese being interviewed by journalist Nick Gillespie at FreedomFest on July 15, 2022. (Fox News Digital)
"Please talk to doctors who actually work in transition. This ‘thought’ has been thoroughly debunked," one user wrote.
Another critic said, in part, "Link your sources for claims of scientific or genetic advantage."
A chorus of others chimed in, agreeing with Cleese, writing, "Well said" and "agreed," but warned the actor that holding such opinions could eventually lead him to become another victim of cancel culture.
The "Monty Python" star has historically railed against cancel culture and censorship in the past, telling Fox News Digital at FreedomFest last year that no comedian should be canceled for telling a joke.
"I think it's particularly worrying at the moment because you can only create in an atmosphere of freedom, where you're not checking everything you say critically before you move on. What you have to be able to do is to build without knowing where you're going because you've never been there before.
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"That's what creativity is—you have to be allowed to build. And a lot of comedians now are sitting there and when they think of something, they say something like, 'Can I get away with it? I don't think so. So and so got into trouble, and he said that, oh, she said that.' You see what I mean? And that's the death of creativity," he said.
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