Comedian and politician Eddie Izzard has added Suzy to her name, fulfilling a dream she has had from the age of 10. Suzy shared the news with Matt Forde on The Political Party podcast, according to reports.
Suzy says she will be keeping both names so people can choose which one they use and "can't make a mistake". Speaking on the podcast she said: "I’m Eddie. There’s another name I’m going to add in as well, which is Suzy, which I wanted to be since I was 10. I’m going to be Suzy Eddie Izzard, that’s how I’m going to roll."
She added: "People can choose what they want. They can’t make a mistake, they can’t go wrong", Politico reporter Dan Bloom tweeted.
She joked: "I make mistakes with my own pronouns," the Evening Standard reports.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Suzy discussed her bid to become selected as a Labour MP and the reaction from some, reports The Mirror.
According to Politico, she said: "Some people have been transphobic when I was going for the [MP] selection, coming out as trans was not easy back in 1985…
"I don’t know [how many genders there are], we’re all somewhere on the spectrum, we have just got to chill out about it."
Suzy discussed using the pronouns she/her in an interview with The Irish Times in December. When asked about her pronouns she said: "I didn’t change them. The world changed them."
Explaining what she meant, the comedian continued: "I was on a programme. They said, 'Do you want she/her or he/him?’' I went, 'Ahh, oh, she.'
"I’d been thinking of changing them. And then the programme went out, and the whole world changed them. Two days."
The politician added: "I thought it was a great honour. I’ve been promoted – promoted to she. That’s how it was. But I didn’t actively have a campaign about it. It just happened.
"You know, I came out 37 years ago. Some people grumble. I say, 'well, how much notice do you need? Thirty-eight years? Thirty-nine years?'"
Unfortunately, since adopting her new pronouns, Suzy has faced abuse – especially in the political world.
She said: "We were considered nonpeople, or toxic people. And I realised that my job is to try and knit being trans into society. We had a hard time just trying to exist.
"A lot of people have been wonderfully accepting, and young people are very open and great. Some people are still transphobic, but I just ignore them."
- Matt Forde’s fortnightly West End Political Party residency continues with upcoming guests including Krishnan Guru-Murthy on the 20th March and Ruth Davidson on the 3rd April. Tickets at mattforde.com
