Queer 'Doctor Who' Actor Tells Viewers To 'Turn off the TV' If They Don't Like Him; Ratings Then Drop 50%

The BBC cast Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa as the "Fifteenth Doctor" in the last iteration of the popular science fiction television series "Doctor Who."

The show heavily promoted in the press that Gatwa is the "first openly queer black actor' to assume the role of "The Doctor." In April, Gatwa told critics of the promotion to stop watching the series.

"Don't watch. Turn off the TV. Go and touch grass, please, for God's sake," Gatwa told Variety. "As the world darkens — and I do think the world is darkening around queer rights — there is a joy and a celebration, and there’s a community," he later added.

"I feel like anyone that has a problem with someone who’s not a straight white man playing this character, you’re not really, truly a fan of the show. You’ve not been watching! Because the show is about regeneration, and the Doctor is an alien — why would they only choose to be this sort of person?"

Drag queen Jinkx Monsoon, who plays Maestro in the season, echoed the sentiment. 

"To the people who have issues: The show that you love was created by a queer person. Get over it! A lot of people are going to really love this, and I think this season is going to create a lot of new Doctor Who fans. And if we lose some of the transphobic ones, don’t let the door hit you on the way out!" exclaimed Monsoon in an interview with Slate.

Gatwa, Monsoon and the BBC's message is clear: if you don't like the show's promotion of gender ideology, turn the channel.

Update: The viewers responded – by turning off the channel.

Ncuti Gatwa via Getty Images.

The viewership for "Doctor Who" plummeted after the cast's comments. Gatwa debuted during the show's annual Christmas special Dec. 25 with an average of 4.7 million viewers, the lowest-rated premiere since 1963.

The series returned with two episodes last week, shedding around 50% of the premiere Christmas episode. 

The first episode last week, "Space Babies," drew 2.6 million viewers. The second episode, "The Devil’s Chord" drew just 2.4 million.

By comparison, the previous two seasons (not counting the Christmas specials) averaged 3.83 million viewers.

"Only a single episode from 2017 ("The Eaters of Light" — 2.89M) even comes close to sinking as low as Gatwa's ratings in terms of viewership in the last seven to eight years," added The Blaze.

To me, the viewership exodus is less about the casting and more about the promotion. The BBC could've cast Gatwa and promoted the show normally, highlighting the upcoming plots and twists.  

Instead, the broadcaster wanted to pat itself on the back publicly by advertising that it had cast a black queer in the lead role.

In doing so, the show actually undermined Gatwa by making it seem like he was only hired because he is a black queer. Maybe he was.

Furthermore, "Doctor Who" appeals to children. As demonstrated by the backlash Disney faces in the U.S., parents at large do not want films and TV shows subjecting their children to gender ideology. 

Who (no pun intended), in their right mind, would want strangers to influence their kids' sexuality? 

More specifically, who would want this guy doing the sexual influencing?

"There is a joy and a celebration, and there’s a community," Gatwa told Variety when asked about parents skeptical about promoting the LGBT agenda to their children.

"Whether you’re 12 years old and just beginning to work out who you are, 62 years old and you’ve never been who you are, or 61 years old like I am and beginning to worry about where we are in society — there is a hero out there cutting his way through the universe, looking damn good in his suits and doing it with a laugh and a smile."

Apparently, viewers disagree.