Kemi Badenoch says David Tennant is a misogynist after Dr Who blasted her in trans rights speech - as she warns 'loads of people will start coming after us' if Labour win big majority

Kemi Badenoch has hit back at David Tennant calling him a misogynist, after he blasted her in a trans rights speech.

The Women and Equalities Minister said the attack from the Doctor Who star, who told an awards ceremony he wished she would shut up and not exist, was rooted in misogyny. 

'I do think David Tennant is a misogynist. The way he framed those comments showed that he did not care about the argument on single-sex spaces for women,' she told the Times.

'Shut up' is one of the tropes that you hear them say. There's something visceral there. I do think it's probably rooted in misogyny. It doesn't matter whether it's misogyny or not. It wouldn't be any better if it was directed against a man.'

After winning celebrity ally at the LGBT Awards for being one of 'the community's most fierce allies and supporters', the Scottish actor was asked to relay a message to trans youth backstage.

During his interview the Timelord said trans youth should not feel unloved or not accepted as 'most people in the world don't really care', later adding that opposers would 'all go away soon'.

He went even further backstage adding that 'it's a tiny bunch of whinging little f***ers that are on the wrong side of history and they'll all go away soon'.

Ms Badenoch believes that Tennant does not understand her point of view, saying 'I've never said anything negative about trans people.

'I've actually talked about protecting them from those who wish to exploit the rules that were made for them. They [people like Tennant] just don't care. They attack. They think it's all a big game. If you want to be a politician, then stand for election.'

Harry Potter author JK Rowling also weighed into the debate criticising Tennant and implying he had a lack of concern for women's welfare suggesting the actor wanted 'a lot of people to cease to exist' following his comments.

In particular she appeared to imply Tennant had no concern for women who would like to opt for 'female-only' spaces in prisons, at work or in crisis centres.

She wrote on X: 'This man is talking about rape survivors who want female-only care, the nurses currently suing their health trust for making them change in front of a man, girls and women losing sporting opportunities to males and female prisoners incarcerated with convicted sex offenders.' 

Asked how she coped with being attacked by the likes of Tennant, Mrs Badenoch admitted: 'It's not an easy thing to cope with.

'That is just one of thousands of people who sends nasty messages, police investigating things, you just need to have a certain type of character and constitution which is to be able to deal with things like that. 

'Politicians need thicker and thicker skin.' 

Even Sir Kier got involved in the debate this week, as he criticised both Tennant – a Labour supporter who has previously described the party leader as a 'clever grown-up' – and Labour candidate Dawn Butler, who agreed with the former Dr Who.

On a visit to a medical centre outside Leicester to meet NHS staff, he told reporters: 'I think in politics, as in life, it's really important that we are able to robustly disagree with others.

'Obviously, that happens a lot in a general election campaign but we should do it with respect for everybody involved in that robust discussion.'