Nikki Glaser apologizes amid backlash over ‘gross’ joke about transgender influencer born without limbs

DAILYMAIL.COM • 5h ago

By LILLIAN GISSEN, US DEPUTY LIFESTYLE EDITOR Updated: 21:52 25 Sep 2026

Comedian Nikki Glaser has apologized after she was called out for making a ‘gross’ joke about a transgender influencer who was born without limbs.

Briel Adams-Wheatley, 27, has a rare condition that means her arms and legs did not develop in the womb, and she has become a viral star with more than 1.4 million followers by documenting her life.

The social media sensation, who came out as a transgender woman in 2023, was left unamused this week after it was brought to her attention that Glaser, 42, had used her inspirational story as part of her stand-up comedy routine.

Adams-Wheatley took to her Instagram Stories on Thursday to call Glaser out, sharing a screenshot of a message she had received from an audience member at Glaser’s recent show.

According to the fan, the comedian made a joke about Adams-Wheatley’s transition while on stage.

‘Were you aware you are a topic in Nikki Glaser’s current set?’ the fan asked in the message. ‘I was at her show last Saturday in Ridgefield, Washington. I didn’t like the jokes. Love your content, thought you should be aware.’

‘Oh no. What were the jokes she made about me?’ Adams-Wheatley replied.

The fan explained that Glaser gave Adams-Wheatley ‘lots of compliments’ on stage and praised her ‘talent, beauty and confidence.’

‘She said [something about you] already having a hard life with no limbs but still deciding to transition,’ the fan went on.

‘Then something about how you had to [transition] because you rubbed your penis off with the way you drag yourself across the room.’

‘Why are you making comments about what is or is not in my pants?’ Adams-Wheatley wrote over the screenshot, while tagging Glaser.

‘I bought tickets for your show in November and now I’m really rethinking my plans.’

Hours later, Adams-Wheatley posted another screenshot. This time, it was of a message she had received from Glaser.

Glaser apologized for the way Adams-Wheatley found out about the comment, but insisted it ‘wasn’t an accurate portrayal of the joke.’

‘Hey girl, I’m so sorry this got back to you like this,’ Glaser wrote. ‘I should have reached out to you.

‘I never meant to hurt your feelings at all. This is not an accurate portrayal of the joke, but I’m sure it’s still not fun to hear you’re in my act.’

Glaser insisted that she ‘hates anti trans jokes of all kinds,’ adding: ‘And to think I may have added to that rhetoric is disgusting to me.’

‘I make sure to say in the joke multiple times “I love her, please follow her, she’s so f**king funny and cool,” not that that takes away from anything if you were offended by it,’ the comedian continued.

‘But I want you to know my intent. It’s a dumb joke and I will lose it immediately. I love you and I’m so sorry!’

The Daily Mail has reached out to Glaser’s representative for comment.

Screenshots of Adams-Wheatley’s posts were shared on the popular Reddit forum called Fauxmoi, where they went viral, sparking backlash for Glaser.

‘”I’m sorry you heard that,” like? Okay, but are you sorry you said it?’ one user wrote in the comment section.

‘It’s wild to start her “apology” with I’m sorry you found out,’ agreed another.

‘That’s what I was thinking too! Like, “Sorry you had to find out I was mocking your disability in my act this way, my bad!”‘ someone else added.

‘When are comedians gonna learn times have changed, we punch up now not down,’ read a fourth comment.

‘This is so disappointing on her part. Really thought she had promise. Briel is literally so sweet in her online presence. I’m so appalled someone would even make a joke out of her.’

A fifth said: ‘Briel is super cool and I think she’d actually be fine with a joke that wasn’t so crass and tacky and gross (and unfunny).’

Adams-Wheatley was born with Hanhart Syndrome, an incredibly rare genetic condition which affects fewer than one in 1,000,000 people. She also has scoliosis, which is a sideways curvature of the spine.

Adams-Wheatley previously spoke to the Daily Mail about her journey, revealing how she was abandoned by her parents when she was just a baby.

She was then adopted by a devout Mormon couple in Utah, who already had 11 children and were expecting their twelfth.

‘She was seven months pregnant, but when she heard my story she felt an instant connection to me. She knew that I was supposed to be her kid,’ Adams-Wheatley said of her adoptive mother.

‘She went home and she prayed about it, and she received her own revelation that it was supposed to happen.’

While you might think having so many siblings would make life a breeze for the star, her mother banned them from helping her, instilling in the young Adams-Wheatley a ferocious sense of independence which continues to drive her to this day.

‘She told my siblings that they weren’t allowed to do things for me and that I needed to figure out how to do it myself,’ she said.

‘A lot of people looking in thought that was really rude. But now, being a successful 26-year-old who is married, and has their own job and income, I have nothing but the deepest gratitude for my mum and all the tough love that she gave me when I was younger.

‘She made sure that I would be able to live the life that I truly wanted in the end, instead of one that was taken care of by other people around me.’

After sharing some fun content from her wedding ‘that went crazy viral,’ Adams-Wheatley rapidly gained a following, ‘and that kind of just propelled me into doing social media full time.’

Posting as @no_limbs_ on both TikTok and Instagram, Adams-Wheatley now has over 1.4 million followers and often shares insights from her day-to-day life.

‘The only thing I’m physically not able to do is drive myself,’ she told the Daily Mail, adding that she successfully runs a household and looks after two dogs while her husband is at work or studying.

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