Eddie Izzard says she was ‘beaten in the streets’ after coming out as transgender in the 1980s

Suzy Eddie Izzard has opened up about the abuse she faced after coming out as transgender in the 1980s.

The 61-year-old comedian spoke on Good Morning Britain on Friday morning with Kate Garraway and Ben Shepard.

She recently revealed that she will be adding ‘Susie’ to her name, but has chosen to remain as Eddie in recent interviews as the moniker is her ‘public name’.

Edie, who is gender fluid but prefers she/her pronouns, first came out as trans in 1985 when she was 23.

She told Kate and Ben about how she was ostracized by society, including “fighting in the streets” and being bullied.

Eddie said: “If you were trans, you were considered toxic and not part of society.

“There wasn’t any talk when I came out in ’85, so it was such a tough mental thing because I had to go do it.

“You basically had to go out and if people were yelling at you in the street, if you were being beaten in the streets, you had to fight back and stand your ground.”

Confused, Ben asked if she had ever been in a physical fight. She continued, “Yes. Not many times.

“I had a big fight that I talked about. There were a few fights and a lot more people shouting abuse.

“It’s gone down over the years, but if I go to other places I can take it. I’m just standing my ground.

“Everything after that is not so difficult! I do stand-up in French and German.

It comes after the actor revealed she turned to shoplifting when she was struggling with gender identity as a teenager following the death of her mother.

Edie explained that her mother’s death made it “impossible” for her to express herself – to the point of becoming ill when she was cast as a female in a play while at boarding school in her teenage years.

She said The Guardian: “After mom died, it was just me, my brother and my dad, so even putting on a dress was impossible…

“I was caught stealing make-up when I was 15… Suddenly I was 16 and I was cast as a gangster’s babe in this revue. I became psychosomatically ill.

Although she had the opportunity to explore her gender during the school play, she was unable to tackle the work through fear.

She explained: “They had to get someone else to do it. I could hear his performance from the room I was in. By the time it was over I was fine again. I probably thought, “This is what I really want – but won’t I just sound like a boy?”

Eddie continued: “When I came out, I realized that I don’t look terrible… well, I kind of look like a trans person, but I think the world is more relaxed about it now, and so am I. We went through a unicorn phase, but we just have to be human…

“When we get bored, then we’ve succeeded. “You’re lesbian, gay, bi, or trans, yes, but what do you do?” — Oh, I’m a librarian. “Are you a good librarian or a bad librarian?” “I’m a good librarian. I can find you all the books.

“Or an astronaut.” “Are you a good or bad astronaut?” “Ah, I’m afraid he’s a bad one. I landed on the wrong planet…”

Last month, Edie said she understood there could be confusion about her name and identity now, but insisted no one could offend her.

She said: “So now there’s all this for people who don’t know what to say – I prefer Susie but I don’t mind Eddie. I prefer her/him, but I have nothing against him/her.

“Nobody can make a mistake unless they call me Gregory or Sabrina, and that’s not quite right. Everything else no one can do wrong and can choose.

Eddie added that it’s a “tough time” to be a trans person, saying: “This tough time being trans is just something we have to go through…

“We’re in the conversation now. And we will overcome it. People get very angry on the internet and I just ignore it. I’m really trying to be positive. I want to be an MP”.

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.