22 June 2023 , 19:46
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A comedian with dwarfism has lashed out about her experience moving to the UK, claiming she was repeatedly 'humiliated' and 'never felt more disabled' before ultimately deciding to return back to the US.
Tanyalee Davis, 52, is 3 ft and 3 inches tall and uses a mobility scooter to get around, which she says caused a huge commotion on the Underground.
David moved to the UK from the US to work on an anti-bullying campaign in schools, but found herself being repeatedly humiliated with insensitive comments from guards, lack of ramps, and cruelty from cab drivers.
She said: “I tried my best to raise awareness and fight the good fight but there’s only so much you can do battling an entire system that doesn't give a s***.”
Tanyalee Davis is pictured with her husband, after moving back to the US from the UK after she experienced extreme ableism across the pond (Tanyalee Davis / SWNS)
Tanyalee Davis has hit out at the UK's attitude towards her condition - saying she was left "humiliated" and "never felt more disabled" (Tanyalee Davis / SWNS)“I came over to make people laugh, but the whole time I was there I was being bullied, that’s the irony of it all."
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GWR, who was in charge of the service, said at the time they were "collectively horrified."
"We got it wrong, it made no sense, a wheelchair space is a wheelchair space, it’s not for luggage or pushchairs," a spokesperson said.
Davis is now living in Florida and told the media: "I’ve never felt more disabled than living in the UK."
"It was the general attitude, from train staff to taxi drivers. They would often tell me they didn’t have a disabled ramp," the entertainer explains.
Tanyalee Davis and her husband Kevin pictured on a fishing boat (Tanyalee Davis / SWNS)"I found the attitudes way more debilitating over there [the UK]," Davis says as she claims a train guard once announced to passengers that she was causing delays.
She says she was told to move from an unreserved spot on the train after a young mum asked to use it for her pram. When Tanyalee refused to move, the guard threatened to call the police and gave a public announcement on the train - telling passengers that "the woman with the mobility scooter" was causing delays.
She said: “It was humiliating, and I cried all the way home."
Tanyalee added that the way authority figures would speak to her made her value how much free speech she has in the US compared to a country like the UK.
“In the UK I felt like the attitude was very much, ‘No, sorry you can’t do that,'" she says.
“It played with my head and didn’t realise how beat down it made me. I felt like a second-class citizen," the comedian explains.
Tanyalee Davis on a billboard line up during her time as a comedian in the US (Tanyalee Davis / SWNS)However, despite her negative experiences on public transport, Tanyalee says she still has a great love for the UK's cultural scene.
She said: “The UK scene embraces different styles."
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“I love the freedom of British comedy and British people in the main don’t take themselves too seriously.”
Tanyalee has a TikTok profile with three million followers documenting her life since returning to the US.
Tanyalee has also pioneered her own motivational catchphrase – "unstoppable me" - which has struck a chord with thousands of her fans.
Ten people have even had the phrase tattooed.
She said: “That’s what I wholly stand for now."
“No more victim mentality, I’ve realised that you the only one that can help you. My act has changed, I’m now a storyteller, and I talk about things I can do."
“It helped me change my mindset back to one of positivity."