Interview: NYC Comedian Ashley Ryan Talks Anti-Trans Facebook Censorship

On January 6, 2026, New York-based comedian Ashley Ryan learned that Meta had taken down her Facebook pages, apparently because she reported hateful anti-trans comments users posted on one of her videos. Read a conversation with Ryan about hate speech, social media censorship, and why creators need these tools to drive live audiences out to shows.

How did you feel when you learned that Meta decided to remove your Facebook account?

I felt betrayed when I learned that Meta took down my account (both my personal account and professional page). I recently had my first post ever go viral (5 million views) and over a million of those views were from Facebook since Instagram reels are now connected on both platforms. I hadn't been paying much attention to Facebook in recent years, until I noticed that the comment section on this viral video was blowing up.

The viral post was a comedy satire skit about dating while transgender that pokes fun at the Christian Nationalist movement, and while the thousands of comments on Instagram were cheery and playful, the comments on Facebook told a different story. I remember talking to my mother about how well-received the video was on Instagram, and she loved how comment warriors would take down anyone who had anything slightly negative to say. But the reel's Facebook reach touched on a whole different crowd - Middle America. Mostly old retired people or blue collar workers in the suburbs with not much to do were commenting their dislike of the video - which only helped to show it to more people just like them. I'm not sure if Facebook has different filters and rules when leaving comments but many of these comments were downright aggressive, throwing anti-trans insults such as 'your voice is deep,' 'you will never be a real woman,' and you are 'mentally-ill,' usually with a lot more bad grammar and misspellings. But where were all the Keyboard warriors? I never had to respond to anything negative on my Instagram post - others always beat me to it! But these Facebook comments were going unchecked.

So about once a week for the past month or so I would log into Facebook and check out the new mean comments for that week on the video and poke fun at them. I wasn't saying anything mean back, just something silly that would elicit a response, which would further boost the algorithm.

But there were some comments that took things too far. I received direct threats of physical harm from pictureless profiles, as well as indirect death threats from people with pictures saying things like, "I can't believe you haven't been murdered yet." I was actually shocked that these comments were even allowed to be posted on the platform, and not even get filtered out. For those types of comments specifically - I commented with a single tag of the FBI's official Facebook page. It was a somewhat funny response as a comedian, but at the same time very serious since I was actually alerting the FBI in a public forum. They did not like that.

However, eventually I got tired of using this 'alerting the FBI by tagging them' joke and decided to start reporting the really malicious comments on Facebook through Facebook's reporting system. I only did it about twice. And just guess what happened? Facebook SHUT my personal profile and my professional page down. All 20 years of memories from high school to young adulthood, forever gone.

And why? Because I was standing up for myself by using the report feature and responding to hate speech with punchlines.

The worst part is that I am subscribed to Meta Verified, a $20 a month feature that not only gives you a blue check mark but is supposed to 'protect' your account from hacks by verifying that you are a real person. So basically I've spent hundreds of dollars for Facebook to cancel me.

And of all days for them to cancel me - they chose January 6th?

The Irony.

A man who had people killed by causing an insurrection through the use of social media, gets to keep Facebook. 

A transgender comedian defending herself from bullies in comments on her personal content does not.

But honestly, getting banned on Facebook in 2026 is like getting banned at Sears in the early 2000s.

How does social media censorship affect you as a live performer?

The part that really sucks about social media is that live performers, actors, and comedians all rely on it! It plays a huge role in not only selling tickets and building your audience, it is also your job application.

I was a casting director and producer for 10 years in reality television and while initially my job was to find new and undiscovered talent, at the end of my career the only thing the TV execs cared about was how many followers across different platforms the individual had as they saw that as potential viewers for the show. I can't tell you how many amazing talented people I had pitched only to be turned down for not having enough of a following.

It's very discouraging to get censored as a comedian because your voice is literally your livelihood. I know I sometimes push boundaries with my material and fight for change, but I didn't do anything like Kathy Griffin holding the bloody current president's head in a photo type of thing. No, I was just censored for being myself and making the content which I enjoy, which is far worse of a feeling.

For people not in the LGBTQ+ space, Transgender people and Drag Queen are the groups that face the most censorship / shut down accounts in both the social media dating app spaces. Are accounts often get shut down for 'impersonating' someone or presenting as someone other than what's on your ID. This is why you sometimes see drag queens with their non-stage names on their social media accounts - because Meta forced them to change it.

But censorship of this nature is more than just ticket sales and a future career, for any true performer it feels like you are taking their voice when you don't allow them to participate. 

Are you planning to continue to use Instagram? Is there anything you would recommend people do to protest this type of action by Meta?

I have been an Instagram user since before Meta owned it. I originally used it as just a retro-photo editing app before my younger step brother told me he was talking to people on it and discovered it was indeed, a social media platform. The majority of my audience and my friends are on Instagram and it's really the main way I announce and promote my shows, as well as stay connected to my community of comics when I see them post new bits.

I do worry about what would happen if I lost both Instagram and Facebook, as we all know TikTok is always up in the air. I also experience a lot more censorship issues with TikTok, so it's just not the best option.

Since your Facebook is currently disabled, how else can people find your upcoming shows and support your work?

I will still be posting my shows on Instagram! 

I currently host a show every Monday night at Red Eye in Hell's Kitchen. 

It's a free show for both audience and performers. It's one of the few free open mics in Manhattan with sign-ups starting around 9 pm with the show starting about 10-15 mins after, running for two hours.

Is there anything else we didn’t touch on yet that you’d like to add?

I was paid thousands of dollars to cast the Facebook 2021 LGBT+ Pride Campaign. 

At the time I was so happy with the amount of resources and authenticity they put into the campaign, but now I believe it was all just for show. It's sad to see these big corporations abandon the values they once stood for just to bow down to a wannabe dictator. 

Learn more about Ashley Ryan and where to find her at allmylinks.com/AshleyRyanTV