Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley just dropped a big bomb in an interview with V Magazine. Patsy Stone, the alcoholic fashion editor that Lumley has played for decades, will come out as transgender in the upcoming movie.
Show co-creator Jennifer Saunders, who portrays Patsy’s bumbling best friend, Edina, says the movie will likely be the last hurrah for everyone favorite terrible twosome. Not because there’s not still comedy to had in the mess, but because comedic tastes have changed since the show premiered over 20 years ago.
“You can’t be rude about stuff anymore,” says Saunders. “Everyone’s so fucking sensitive about everything now… Oh, I’m so sorry I offended you. I’ve offended a croissant. I was croissant-ist. And they’ve got their own Facebook page, croissants now. I’ve offended some food.”
Saunders said the show’s LGBT audience was the least likely to be upset at the show’s patently offensive and ribald content. “We tried very hard,” she said, “but [gay people] refused to be offended—and I admire them for that. Thank God you’re hanging on in there.”
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“You go back and pick through it, the amount of gay references and ease with which it’s been put into the story, without it being dragged along like a great log of plot. It’s really normal that one of [Edina’s] ex-husbands now lives with his young boyfriend. It’s completely normal that [Edina] wants Saffy [Edina’s long-suffering daughter] to be a lesbian or that Serge [Edina’s long lost son] is gay and living in New York. It’s completely normal that Patsy is transgender.”
Previous episodes of the comedy have shown Patsy gender bending and once was revealed to have been a member of the Beatles. Lumley’s revelation, however, is the first time either star has confirmed fan’s suspicions that Patsy is actually transgender. Now they just have to hope she wasn’t joking.
The movie hits theaters on July 22.
