During a recent appearance on the Sky Arts television programme, Portrait Artist Of The Year, legendary comedian Eddie Izzard requested she be addressed by she/her pronouns – prompting a wave of support.

As part of the show, celebrities sit to have their portraits painted by contestants. During a conversation with one of the competitors, Curtis Holder, Izzard explained that “this is the first programme I’ve asked if I can be she and her – a little transition period.”

When Holder asked Izzard how it made her feel, she explained, “Well, it feels great, because people just assume that … well, they just know me from before. I’m gender fluid. I just want to be based in girl mode from now on.”

Fans poured forth support after the statement. As one social media user shared, “It makes no sense that people claiming to be fans are flipping out now that she’s exclusively using she/her pronouns and femme presentation, which have been part of her life (and standup!) for decades. Who did you think Eddie was?”

Eddie Izzard is a fantastic comedian and actress. It makes no sense that people claiming to be fans are flipping out now that she's exclusively using she/her pronouns and femme presentation, which have been part of her life (and standup!) for decades. Who did you think Eddie was?

— Delia Harrington (@DeliaMary) December 19, 2020

Me reading every tweet celebrating Eddie Izzard pic.twitter.com/okUNiJFy1W

— Rusty (@rustandruin) December 20, 2020

I woke up to see #EddieIzzard trending & feared the worst.

I was delighted to see that she's living her best life & it's just some keyboard crybabies melting down over her pronouns. pic.twitter.com/03cp0rgyqA

— Aethon'sArmory (@AethonS) December 20, 2020

While there were the usual nasty comments that social media can be counted on to spill forth, positivity and kindness were in the majority. As well they should be.

Join Eddie on ‘A Run for Hope’ that will usher in a challenging new year, with the determination to fight for a new future, encouraging people all over Europe and around the world to unite together to ‘Make Humanity Great Again’. Details @ https://t.co/Ut6lUCQfCK.– The Beekeepers pic.twitter.com/ZkPCwRAoB8

— Eddie Izzard (@eddieizzard) December 11, 2020

While well known as an actor and comedian, Eddie Izzard has also raised a huge amount of money for charity with impressive feats of marathon running. As part of her Make Humanity Great Again Challenge, Izzard ran 29 marathons in 29 days throughout February 2020 in order to raise money for child refugees in Europe.

Now, in 2021, as part of a new fundraising challenge, Izzard will run 31 marathons in 31 countries in 31 days, performing a comedy gig each night. Her social media account shared, “Join Eddie on ‘A Run For Hope’ that will usher in a challenging new year, with the determination to fight for a new future, encouraging people all over Europe and around the world to unite together to ‘Make Humanity Great Again.'”