Mrs Brown’s Boys star Brendan O’Carroll unbothered by transphobia accusations: ‘I don’t think about them’

‘Where do you draw the line? Shouldn’t we get the best person for the job?’ actor asked

Brendan O’Carroll has said that he isn’t fazed by accusations that his show Mrs Brown’s Boys is transphobic.

The Irish actor has starred as matriarch Agnes Brown in the sitcom since 2011, having originally imagined the character for a radio play in 1992.

Over the years, Mrs Brown’s Boys has been near-universally panned by critics, with The Independent’s Sean O’Grady writing that the 2021 Christmas special was “a hellish place where wit has gone to die”.

However, the show has remained hugely popular, with the show returning for a Christmas special once again this year.

Speaking to The Sun, O’Carroll was asked about critics who apparently claim that the show is transphobic for featuring the actor in a female role.

“I don’t think about them, I write the show I write,” he responded.

“I don’t ever think of myself as being a man playing a woman – when Mrs Brown goes out on that stage she is a woman.”

He continued: “Where do you draw the line? Is it okay for Leonardo DiCaprio to play a carpenter or do we get a carpenter? Shouldn’t we get the best person for the job?”

O’Carroll as Mrs Brown (BBC Studios/Alan Peebles)

In recent years, there has been much debate about whether actors should be able to play characters of a different gender, or trans characters, on screen.

On Thursday (6 October), the Home Office reported that hate crimes against trans people had more than doubled in the last year with a 56 per cent increase.

The report suggested that the lives and rights of trans people being “heavily discussed on social media over the last year” may have contributed to the rise in attacks.