Jess Glynne has ignited furious backlash online, after she used a transphobic slur during a recent appearance on The Mo Gilligan Podcast.
During her interview with The Masked Singer’s Mo Gilligan, the musician, 31, told a story about taking a ‘bad man’ friend to a ‘tranny strip club’ and how she found his seeming discomfort in the establishment amusing.
Over the weekend, a clip of the podcast – which has been taken down since it was uploaded on Friday – was widely circulated and condemned on Twitter, with some even calling for Jess to be dropped as the voice of airline Jet2.
Backlash: Jess Glynne has ignited furious backlash online, after she used transphobic slur during a recent appearance on The Mo Gilligan Podcast. Pictured in December
She told Mo, 33: ‘This is probably the funniest bit. We got to the end of our trail, whatever. It was like a tranny like strip club thing.
‘He’s this bad man like, “What is this?” There was just men dressed as… he was stood in the corner like, “Oh my days.”‘
Lucia Blayke, founder of London Trans+ Pride and east London’s Harpies strip club led the chorus of outrage, tweeting: ‘As the owner of a “tranny strip club.” I’d ask Jess Glynne not to use slurs to describe us or call us “men in wigs.”‘
Lucia concluded of Jess, who has spoken of her own bisexuality: ‘Infact just leave us out of your funny anecdotes, we are not a laughing stock, we are human beings.’
‘There are so many levels of grossness here,’ opined another.
‘The transphobic slur itself, Jess Glynne being part of the LGBTQ+ community and still using it, and the fact that nobody making this successful podcast stopped it from making the cut.’
Story: During her interview with The Masked Singer’s Mo Gilligan, the singer told a story about taking a ‘bad man’ friend to a ‘tranny strip club’ and how she found his discomfort amusing
Avalanche: The star’s casual use of the slur was met with an avalanche of criticism on Twitter
Another stated: ‘The Jess Glynne situation really irks me bc so many people do that exact same thing; bring their uncomfortable straight friends into a queer safe space, knowing that they won’t react well. Cishets stop treating queer spaces like the zoo.’
Jess was also called out for switching off her Instagram comments since the podcast went live, with some seeing the move as evidence that she knows she’s upset others, while still not yet releasing a statement of apology.
One tweeted: ‘Jess Glynne turning her comments off her Instagram photos just shows that she knows she’s done something wrong. APOLOGISE. We are not here for your amusement.’
Meanwhile, another looked at her casual use of the slur as an example of how transphobia remains normalised across society.
They wrote: ‘AND WHAT HAVE I BEEN TALKING ABOUT ON THE TL FOR WEEKS, normalised transphobia and use of transphobic slurs, and now we have Jess Glynne being a shining example of everything I was saying.’
Clip: Over the weekend, a clip of the podcast – which has been taken down since it was uploaded on Friday – was circulated and condemned on Twitter. Mo Gilligan pictured right
Affecting her work? Attentions also turned to what her comments would mean for her future as the voice of budget airline Jet2. The airline gave a generic response to the enquiries
Looking at both sides, another said: ‘it sounds like jess glynne didn’t know the t slur is a slur and i’m sure her intentions weren’t wrong but that still doesn’t change the fact she said it and she should educate herself and be held accountable for it.’
Turning their attentions to Jess’ gig as the voice of airline Jet2, one said: ‘That’s #JessGlynne cancelled. What will @jet2tweets do now for their boarding song ?’
The airline’s Twitter account responded to a number of tweets questioning Jess’ future with them: ‘Hi there, thanks for getting in touch – thank you for bringing this to our attention, we will make sure to pass this on to the relevant teams internally.’
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Jess Glynne, Mo Gilligan and Jet2 for comment.
Some Twitter users linked it to the backlash Jess faced last year, when she accused swanky London restaurant Sexy Fish of ‘discrimination’ after she was refused entry wearing a tracksuit, despite the eatery’s smart casual dress code policy.
‘I wish I never posted it’: Late last year, Jess admitted she regrets accusing swanky restaurant Sexy Fish of ‘discrimination’ on social media over the summer (pictured)
Late last year, Jess admitted she regrets accusing upscale establishment Sexy Fish of ‘discrimination’ on social media over the summer.
The singer suffered backlash for being ‘privileged and entitled’ when she hit out at the upmarket Mayfair eatery for refusing her entry as she wore a tracksuit, despite its smart casual dress code policy.
In a new interview, the Rather Be hitmaker insisted she uploaded the post in a bid to stress that people should never be ‘disregarded’ over their appearance.
The musician told Telegraph Luxury magazine: ‘I wish I never posted it. I think it got so misconstrued. I called it discrimination which was the wrong word and it’s a very sensitive time at the moment. I know discrimination is a lot bigger than that.
‘I appreciate I wasn’t dressed appropriately, but the reason I posted my outfit was that I was aware of what I looked like in a tracksuit and I felt as if I was treated accordingly. My point was that as a human being, you shouldn’t be disregarded.’
Awkward: The singer suffered backlash when she hit out at the upmarket Mayfair eatery for refusing her entry as she wore a tracksuit, despite its smart casual dress code policy
Reaction: Social media users branded her ‘privileged and entitled’ for her comments
In her original post, the Hold My Hand songstress had blasted Sexy Fish for its ‘rude’ attitude when staff refused her entry, despite the restaurant being ’empty’.
Jess wrote, alongside an image of herself in sportswear: ‘Dear @sexyfishlondon I turned up to your restaurant looking like this and you looked me and my friend up and down and said no you can’t come in and your restaurant was EMPTY.
‘I then went to @amazonicolondon who greeted me and my friend with pure joy and we had a banging meal with wicked service.
‘@sexyfishlondon please check yourself if this is how you treat people cause it’s rude, off putting, embarrassing and most definitely not inviting.
‘We were made to wait and 2 members of staff came to look at us and make a decision based on our appearance. I think the attitude of your staff needs to change as that was just simply RUDE. Thanks and bye (sic).’
Values: In an interview, the Rather Be hitmaker insisted she uploaded the post in a bid to stress that people should never be ‘disregarded’ over their appearance (pictured in 2019)
Asian restaurant Sexy Fish, where steaks cost up to £105, clearly lists on its website: ‘We request that guests do not wear sportswear, beachwear. ripped jeans, flip flops, sliders or workout trainers (smarter, fashion trainers may be permitted)’.
After being met with criticism for her original post, the songwriter backtracked for her use of the ‘wrong word’ yet defiantly maintained that the staff were rude and insisted she was merely aiming to help the establishment ‘better itself’.
The award-winning singer said: ‘I feel I need to come on here and pull up on what I posted yesterday, I used the wrong word, discrimination, it wasn’t the right word, it was wrong but I wanna highlight the reason I posted what I did.
‘Basically all I wanted to say is it was very rude and disrespectful the way the Sexy Fish staff were towards me and my friend yesterday and I don’t believe anybody should be spoken to like that and that’s what I wanted to highlight.
‘I’m so understanding of dress code and etiquette and I 100% understand – listen I have been turned away from numerous places in my life, that’s not a thing, that doesn’t bother me…
‘What I was trying to highlight was for them so they can better themselves, there’s ways of dealing with human beings and being respectful and having manners. Anyway let me know when it’s safe to come back out.’
Standing her ground: After being met with criticism for her original post, the songwriter backtracked for her use of the ‘wrong word’ yet defiantly maintained that the staff were rude