The 84-year-old actor, known for her extensive career in stage and film, is perhaps more importantly recognized by most younger generations as Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter movies. Her thoughts diverge wildly from the widely-known transphobe author of Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling.
In the interview, Margolyes reflected on her own growth relating to and talking with trans people, saying that while she supports trans' people's right to self determination, she had struggled with using "they/them" pronouns in the past, citing a love of grammar precision as the reason why.
She explained:
"I was very keen on grammar, and so when people started talking about pronouns and that they wanted 'them' and not 'he/she,' I thought, 'What the f*ck are you talking about?' It's clear, it's grammar."
However, a pivotal conversation changed her mind. She credits actor Zoe Terakes, who uses they/them pronouns, with helping her shift her worldview and the subsequently her actions, on the subject.
Margolyes did misgender Terakes when quoting them, using "she" pronouns, but the spirit was there.
"'What does it matter to you,' [they] said, 'if you can make someone happy by calling them 'they' instead of 'he' or 'she,' why not do it?'"
From then on, Margolyes said, she changed her attitude on the matter.
People pointed out that, even if Margolyes thinks that using a singular they isn't grammatically correct, it actually is, going all the way back to examples from the Bard himself, William Shakespeare.
In fact, someone said, we use it all the time without even thinking about it.
A few people were rankled by Margolyes citing Zoe Tarekas discussing trans grammar with her, while at the tame time misgendering Tarakes the entire time.
Folks recognized that Margolyes is currently in a deeply transphobic country, and offered her a way out to join her other roots, as Margolyes is British-Australian.
People gave credit where credit was due and commented on Margolyes' advanced age and how she isn't ossified in her own growth as a human.
All in all, commenters really felt her message hit home.
Margolyes most recently appeared in one of her travel specials, Miriam Margolyes Discovers New Zealand.
According to Musk, this could only be the result of "outrageous bigotry."
Musk reposted a link shared by Rupert Murdoch's tabloid The New York Post about the TBI report on Saturday.
Musk captioned his repost:
"Literally zero Republicans in 30 Yale departments when half the country is Republican is truly outrageous bigotry!"
Musk also reshared a post from conservative podcaster Patrick Bet-David with a reference to TBI's report. Neither Musk nor Bet-David included a direct link to the actual report.
Bet-David included a screenshot of Yale's mission statement captioned:
"Question for [Yale University].
"How do you claim to be about 'free exchange of ideas' when 83% of faculty are registered democrats, with 15% identify as independent, and roughly 2% are Republicans?"
"You have a monopoly on political ideology."
Musk captioned his repost of Bet-David:
"Elite Western universities are far left indoctrination camps where diversity of political thought is effectively banned."
Of course, many people called out that Musk's demand for more Republican professors qualifies as DEI.
Musk's followers responded with the usual bigotry expected, including several antisemitic comments.
A scroll through the replies also showed a multitude of blue checked bots posting the same comments, word for word, over and over.
The irony of hundreds of bots demanding diversity, equity, and inclusion on a post by Musk was lost on Musk and his human supporters.
Despite the bots, people saw a reason other than bigotry for the lack of Republicans in the Yale faculty.
replying to @elonmusk/X
replying to @elonmusk/X
Others noted who comprised Yale's alumni.
replying to @elonmusk/X
replying to @elonmusk/X
Yale University responded to TBI's latest report that it does not track faculty political affiliation and supports open debate through initiatives such as the Yale Center for Civic Thought.
"We just finished five great Christmas concerts at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert."
"As many of you know, I recently went through six weeks of bronchitis, followed by a relapse of another five weeks. Even though I was over the bronchitis and back on stage at the Westgate Las Vegas, my wonderful doctor ordered an MRI just to make sure that everything was okay."
"The MRI discovered a cancerous spot on my left lung that needs to be removed."
"It's pure luck (and a great doctor) that it was found so early. That's the good news."
Though Manilow was grateful for the discovery, he didn't enjoy disappointing his fans.
"The bad news is that now that the Christmas: A Gift of Love concerts are over, I'm going into surgery to have the spot removed."
"The doctors do not believe it has spread, and I'm taking tests to confirm their diagnosis."
"No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and 'I Love Lucy' reruns."
"The only follow-up is a month to recover, and that means we have to reschedule the January arena concerts."
"I'm very sorry you have to change your plans."
Despite Manilow's concerns, fans were very understanding and supportive of the singer putting his health first.
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
According to Manilow's team, his treatment should be fairly simple and not require extensive healing time, which will allow him to go back to doing what he loves to do as quickly as possible. Though Manilow has pressed pause on his farewell tour, he currently expects to be "ready to take a chance again," starting in February 2026.
The singer currently has tentative dates and locations planned for Tampa on February 26, 2026, all the way through April 27, 2026, in Jacksonville. Surely it will be worth the wait!
