Russell T Davies marking the 25th anniversary of the influential drama Queer as Folk on the opening night of the new Manchester LGBTQ+ Film & TV Festival, SCENE.
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Russell T Davies — writer and showrunner of iconic shows like Queer As Folk, It's A Sin, and most recently, Doctor Who — believes the gays are currently "in the greatest danger I have ever seen.”
The Guardian spoke with Davies, 61, at the Gaydio Pride Awards in Manchester on March 14, and he reflected on the state of the world since Trump took office and began pushing a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ bills and sentiments.
The hostility is not just in the U.S. but "is here [in the UK] now," he said. "As a gay man, I feel like a wave of anger, and violence, and resentment is heading towards us on a vast scale."
Davies believes something shifted when Trump took office.
"I've literally seen a difference in the way I’m spoken to as a gay man since that November election," he said. "That’s a few months of weaponizing hate speech, and the hate speech creeps into the real world."
Davies, who was in his 20s during the AIDS crisis and wrote an entire series about the era, believes the anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment as of late is brewing something sinister. "I'm not being alarmist. I’m 61 years old. I know gay society very, very well, and I think we’re in the greatest danger I have ever seen."
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In the several weeks since Trump returned to the presidential office, his administration declared that it would only "recognize two sexes, male and female." Medical and life-saving information about transgender care, HIV prevention, and more was wiped from government websites. His transphobic actions have opened the door for a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments with political consequences, including lawmakers in nine states proposing measures to repeal the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges same-sex marriage ruling, which would end the federal right to gay marriage for their populations.
Despite it all, transgender people will never stop existing. The community and allies are rallying around each other to uplift LGBTQ+ people around the world in these troubling times. As Lady Gaga said in February at the 2025 Grammy Awards, "Trans people are not invisible. Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up."
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