Martina Navratilova claps back at Scottish TV host Lorraine Kelly over ‘social media nutter’ remark in trans rights discussion

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova challenged Scottish TV show host Lorraine Kelly’s "nutter" comment in a trans rights discussion. Navratilova recently shared an article on X featuring Lorraine Kelly’s comments on anti-trans bigotry, in which the TV host criticized social media for giving “nutters” a voice.

Kelly, in an interview with The Guardian on March 8, called for greater tolerance toward the transgender community. She expressed disappointment that society seemed more accepting of trans people in the past compared to today, attributing the shift to the influence of social media.

"We were much more tolerant. Again, it’s social media giving nutters a voice. It makes no sense to me. I know a fair few people who are trans and they just want to get on with their lives. I don’t think trans people should have to come on the television, or be part of the debate, to justify their existence," she said.

Navratilova, a vocal critic of transgender participation in women’s sports, responded to the article by sharing it on social media and pointedly asking:

"Hey Lorraine – do I look like a social media nutter to you?"

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Martina Navratilova leaned into ‘TERF’ label with blunt opinion on women’s safety

In Picture: Martina Navratilova during the 2024 Laureus World Sports Awards press conference (Image source: Getty)

Martina Navratilova was labeled as a trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) by a critic, but rather than rejecting the epithet, she welcomed it as she doubled down on her position in the heated debate about women's sex-based spaces.

In December 2024, Navratilova participated in a contentious X (formerly Twitter) debate regarding transgender individual's access to women's facilities such as restrooms and locker rooms. When another user minimized worries over the issue, she responded with her own opinion by writing:

"You don’t get to tell women what they should be comfortable with . Trans identified males are not welcome in women’s sex based spaces. Stop telling us what we should or should not be doing about it."

Another user then accused her of being a TERF, to which the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion replied by embracing that label, affirming that individuals such as hers assist in making the voices of women heard in the argument.

"TERFs like me speak for the women who can’t speak for themselves- and those women and girls do NOT want male bodies in their spaces. Speak for your self. You might be ok with males in the women’s locker room. Good for you. Many are not ok with that. For obvious reasons," Navratilova replied.

In other news, Martina Navratilova praised President Donald Trump for prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in women's sports.