Actor Hugh Laurie has publicly supported basketball player Sophie Cunningham’s position that transgender women should not compete in women’s sport, according to the article. The intervention matters because it adds a prominent entertainment figure’s voice to an increasingly contentious debate over eligibility, fairness and inclusion in female sporting categories.

The article presents Laurie’s comments as likely to be unpopular with some people in Hollywood, where views on transgender participation in sport vary widely. It links his stance to Cunningham, a WNBA player who has drawn attention for expressing similar views, but the supplied text does not include the full wording of Laurie’s remarks or further details of the exchange.