THEGAYUK

Day: 11 October 2018

  • Owen Jones calls the Natural History Museum to cancel Saudi Embassy event

    In a tweet, Owen Jones has called upon the Natural History Museum to cancel an event hosted by the Saudi Embassy.

    (C) National History Musemn

    According to Guardian Journalist, Owen Jones, the Saudi Embassy is to hold an event at the Natural History Museum tonight. He called upon the museum to cancel the event saying, “The Saudi dictatorship is massacring thousands in Yemen and is currently accused of kidnapping and murdering a journalist.”

    Saudi Arabia is also one of the countries where being gay can still attract the death penalty for those found guilty.

    The Natural History Museum, which sees 5.2 million people pass through its doors every year, is often used to host charity and gala events in its iconic building in London.

    Amnesty International notes,

    “Women and girls continued to face discrimination in law and practice, despite the government’s promised reforms. Women were required to have permission from a male guardian – their father, husband, brother or son – to enrol in higher education, seek employment, travel or marry. They also remained inadequately protected against sexual and other forms of violence”

    “Courts continued to impose death sentences for a range of crimes, including drug offences or for conduct that under international standards should not be criminalized, such as “sorcery” and “adultery”. Many defendants were sentenced to death after unfair trials by courts that convicted them without adequately investigating allegations of coerced “confessions”, including under torture.”

    Commercial events bring an “important source of external funding”

    Speaking to THEGAYUK.com a spokesperson for the museum said,

    “The Natural History Museum was booked by the Saudi embassy over two months ago as a venue for an external event to celebrate Saudi Arabia Day. No Museum staff are attending as guests or speaking at the event.

    “Enabling commercial events to take place outside of public opening hours in our iconic spaces brings the Museum an important source of external funding, which allows us to maintain our position as a world class scientific research centre and visitor attraction. We hold a wide variety of commercial events and it is made clear to any host that doing so is not an endorsement of their product, service or views.

    “We have an Ethics Policy and a Third Party Engagement Policy. These policies are publicly available on the Museum’s website.”

  • This photographer agency just refused service to “gay-cake” bakers

    This photographer agency just refused service to “gay-cake” bakers

    “We appreciate that this looks like tit for tat, and it is”

    (C) PERFOCAL

    Perfocal, a photographer booking agency just refused service to the Ashers Bakery following on from the UK Supreme Court ruling yesterday which said that the bakery had not discriminated against a customer because of his sexuality, but because of the political message, he had asked the cake, “Support Gay Marriage” to be emblazoned with.

    Perfocal enables members of the public to book photographers in major UK cities is, after learning of the details of a job they were booked for, refusing to share the photographs taken with The Christian Institute, a charity and lobby group supporting the owners of a Northern Irish bakery at the centre of a discrimination row.

    The Christian owners of a Northern Ireland bakery won their appeal at the Supreme Court yesterday after refusing to make a cake with the slogan ‘Support Gay Marriage’. The dispute began in 2014, after the customer, gay rights activist Gareth Lee, sued the company for discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and political beliefs after the bakery had already accepted payment for the order.

    Charity and lobby group The Christian Institute, paying the legal fees for the family that owned the bakery, used a photographer booking website to capture the moments before and after the case was heard. With estimated legal fees of £450,000 between both parties, the £36.50 cake has been described as ‘the most expensive cake in UK history’.

    Private companies can accept bookings and then cancel if it offends their sensibilities.

    The founder of the photographer booking website, Perfocal.com, has said in a statement on the company’s blog that the photographer booked on the day has been paid in full for their time by Perfocal, and the Christian Institute has been refunded. The Christian Institute paid for a 3-hour photography session, photo edit, all photos and extra for a 24-hour turnaround as opposed to the company’s usual 48-hour service. The statement made is within that 24-hour period, and the customer has been contacted.

    The statement, including details of the £239 (+ £28 for rush delivery) booking, can be read here

    In a statement, Tony Xu, the founder of the photographer booking site Perfocal.com said,

    “It’s been accepted in the highest court in the UK that private companies can accept bookings and then, if they feel that it goes against their morals, refuse that booking if it offends their sensibilities and it not be counted as discriminatory.

    “We appreciate that this looks like tit for tat, and it is. We had no idea what the case was when the booking was made – we simply see the basic information, date, time, location. When our photographer on the ground learned what it was while doing the job, they felt immediately uncomfortable with the situation, as many members of the public are, but remained professional. As soon as I found out though, I realised this was an opportunity to highlight exactly why this kind of result is damaging. This isn’t just about standing up against discrimination, I hope our stance serves as an example of exactly where this kind of judgement could lead us. Where does it end?”

    In the blog statement, Xu highlighted that the company is ‘proud to have been booked for many religious ceremonies’, including Christian, Jewish and Muslim celebrations and same-sex weddings, including high-profile individuals, and that they welcome customers from all backgrounds.

  • Adam Lambert lands a brand new movie deal

    Adam Lambert lands a brand new movie deal

    Adam Lambert will star alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Meghan Trainor in a brand new movie.

    Adam Lambert has been named alongside Daniel Radcliffe, Meghan Trainor, Anya Taylor-Joy, Gabriel Bateman and Jim Gaffigan in the voice cast of new animated-live action hybrid movie Playmobil: The Movie.

    Adam Lambert will also sing an original song for the film, which is due out next year and voice the character of villain ‘Emperor Maximus’.

    Last month, Queen and Adam Lambert completed 10-show Vegas residency ‘The Crown Jewels’.

    He is currently finishing up recording his fourth solo album. Adam’s last solo album, The Original High, was a top 10 hit in the UK and took his overall worldwide sales to over 3 million units.