Is Rickie Gervase Punching Up or Punching Down?

Rickie gervase has been making jokes about the trans community on his HBO series, Silicon Valley. In an interview with The Daily Mail he was asked if it's unseemly to punch down in comedy. He responded by saying that you can't tell whether a white man is punching up or down when they're talking about transgender issues. Gervas also said: "In real life, of course i support trans rights"