TORONTO — Canadian comic Colin Mochrie says he welcomes his new role as a champion for transgender rights after speaking out in support of his daughter.

The "Whose Line Is it Anyway?" star says he didn't expect to receive much attention when he took to Twitter on Sunday to ask why some people can't accept transgender people, like his daughter Kinley.

The revelation earned him immediate praise from like-minded fans who tweeted their support.

"I think I've gotten like 2,000 followers over the last day.... It's pretty cool," Mochrie says from his home in Toronto.

"If I can do something to help anyone who is perceived as different, then I'm always there. I truly don't understand prejudices against colour, religion or gender or sexuality because I've met (jerks) of every race, creed and culture and I've met wonderful people from the same."

The funnyman says his tweet was partly prompted by the upcoming U.S. presidential inauguration, and the divisiveness that seemed to surround the election campaign.

"My 90-yr-old mother-in-law and 87-yr-old mother love and acceptance of our trans daughter warms me. Wonder why some who are younger can't," Mochrie tweeted.

He says his 26-year-old daughter Kinley, who was born Luke Mochrie, revealed she was transgender last April. The year before, she told them she was bisexual.

"We knew this is something that she didn't jump into lightly, she's taking some therapy and is looking into hormones," he says.

For his part, Mochrie admits that he and his actress-wife Deb McGrath have needed time to adjust to using a new pronoun when referring to their child.