THEGAYUK

Author: News Desk

  • Gay Stars Come Out In Support Of Tom Daley

    Since the announcement from Tom Daley about his relationship with another man, Gay stars have sent messages of support.

    This morning Tom Daley used YouTube to reveal that he is in a relationship with another man, which has caused him to be trending on Twitter worldwide.
    Celebrities such as Boy George and Lucy Spraggan have tweeted their support.

    Boy George Tweeted:

    “Good for you @TomDaley1994 and let that be the end of it!”

    Lucy Spraggan, who recently had a Twitter battle with James Arthur over his homophobic comments, shared her love of his decision to come out and his Olympic body!: “Insane amount of love for @TomDaley1994 today, the only man I’ve ever googled imaged to admire the beauty of!”

    Russell Brand also voiced his love, tweeting:

    ‘@TomDaley1994 Well done sunshine, dive into love.’

    And Troye Sivan, who came out earlier this year wrote:

    Super duper proud and happy for @TomDaley1994! Life’s infinitely better on this side of the closet.

  • Tom Daley In Relationship With Another Guy

    Tom Daley is in a relationship – with a man, he revealed in a video this morning.

    Hold the presses… Tom has something to say…

    The Olympic diver has announced that he is happy in his new relationship – with a man – although he still ‘fancies’ girls.

    Tom’s emotional video can be watched here.

    The transcript of the video is here:

    Hi guys, so most of you are probably wondering why I’m doing this video.

    My life’s been a bit of a rollercoaster, to say the least, over the last couple of years. Losing my dad to cancer in 2011 was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with in my life. Then winning an Olympic medal last year in 2012 in front of a home crowd, finishing my A Levels this year.. it’s been hectic.

    One thing I consider to be pretty important is to have some form of private life and you’re probably thinking ‘well why did you do a book and why did you do a documentary and stuff’ but I’ve only ever talked about things I feel comfortable talking about.

    When I was younger I didn’t like talking about a bullying situation at school, I didn’t like talking about my dad because obviously at the time it was a sensitive subject.

    It’s one of those things where in an ideal world I shouldn’t be doing this video because it shouldn’t matter but recently I was misquoted in an interview and it made me feel really angry and frustrated. You know, emotions that I’ve never felt before when reading quotes about myself.

    Honesty, for me is something I really do believe in. And I’ve always been honest. I may have been vague in some of my answers, but one thing I’ve never felt that comfortable talking about are my relationships, because it is what I get asked even if I’m doing sporting interviews ‘do you have a girlfriend, who are you seeing’ all that kind of stuff.

    I mean, I’ve been dating girls and I’ve never really had a serious relationship to talk about. Now I kind of feel ready to talk about relationships. Come Spring this year, my life changed, massively, when I met someone and they make me feel so happy, so safe and everything just feels great.

    Well that someone is a guy. And it did take me by surprise a little bit. It was always in the back of my head that something like that could happen. But it wasn’t until spring this year that something just clicked, it felt right. And I was like: OK.

    Like I said, my whole world just changed right there and then. Of course, I still fancy girls, but right now I’m dating a guy and I couldn’t be happier. It feels safe and it just feels right.

    People are going to have their own opinions and people are going to make a deal of this. Is it a big deal? I don’t think so. People are going to call me a liar, it’s going to be big, but I wanted to say something and right now I’m ready and I wanted to do it.

    People will think: ‘what would your dad say?’ Well he always said: ‘if you’re happy, I’m happy’ and right now I couldn’t be happier. My mum’s been so supportive as well, I can count the number of people on my hand that I’ve told, but all my friends and family that I have told have been so supportive, which has been great.

    But I told the rest of my family today and let’s just say they had mixed opinions, lots of them didn’t believe it, lots of them wanted me to keep it quiet. Some said why don’t you just do a statement, why don’t you do a magazine cover, why don’t you do a TV interview? But I didn’t want to get my words twisted, I wanted to put an end to all the rumours and just say it, to tell you guys. Because it’s what I want to do.

    My friends and family are always there to support me and I hope you guys can be too. I mean I’m still Tom, I still want to win a gold medal for Great Britain in Rio in 2016. I’m still as motivated as ever to do that, and it would be great to have you guys on that journey too.

    I just wanted to make sure that I got to tell you guys before I head off to Houston for a training camp I’ve got up until Christmas. I’m glad that I’ve got it off my chest.

    And I hope you can join me on my journey to Rio 2016, too.

  • NEWS: James Arthur Misses The Mark With “Gay” Apology

    Stunned members of the gay community took to Twitter to complain about the lack of ‘sincerity’ of James Arthur’s apology for his recent homophobic slur.

    Hundreds of people took to Twitter during James Arthur’s attempt at rehabilitation of his career and the launch of his new single Recovery after a shocking couple of weeks.

    Enraged users of the micro-blogging site vented their anger as Arthur mumbled his way through his interview with X Factor host Dermot O’Leary.

    Arthur who won last year’s X Factor was hauled over the coals two weeks ago, when a recorded rap appeared online, in which he called an underground rapper Mickey Worthless a “f**king queer”

    However, James Arthur was quick to point out he is friends with many gay people – including Rylan Clark.

    He then suggested that parts of the rap could be ‘mistaken’ for being homophobic, before saying that homophobia is not something he believes in.

    In a further twist, fellow contestant Lucy Spraggan then published a number of texts sent from Arthur, in which he blasted her for speaking out against him.

    The embattled singer told O’Leary:

    ‘You know it’s been an amazing year for me. Some incredible highs and some terrible lows. I’ve made a few silly mistakes, but I want to say thank you to everyone who’s supported me.

    ‘Above all I want to say sorry for abusing my position as an X Factor winner.’

    Users of Twitter and Facebook were not impressed with many calling into question the sincerity of the apology.

     

    Facebook user Robb Patrick said:

    ‘He was sorry to the show NOT sorry for the use of offensive language said in anger and spite!

    What a wastes [sic] opportunity James!!’

    and Steven Smyth wrote:

    ‘I feel sick he was aloud (sic) on a complaint is going into itv’

    Despite the singer’s prime-time performance of his new single Recovery on ITV’s flagship show, the single has failed to enter the top 10 on the iTunes’ singles chart, and his debut album James Arthur has fallen 10 places to number 18 in the UK Official Album Chart.

     

  • Coca-Cola slammed for gay couple removal in irish broadcast

    Coco-Cola the world’s biggest drinks manufacturer has been slammed for removing the gay couple segment from the Irish version of the advert.

    A Spokesperson for the drinks company said:

    “The wedding images used in the ad for the UK and in other parts of Europe show two men getting married.

    “The reason this was changed for Ireland is while civil partnership for gay people is legal, gay marriage currently is not. We wanted each ad to be relevant and valid for its own market.”

    Coca-Cola trended in Ireland as many people took to the social network to complain about the edit.

    Adam Long an LGBT Rights activist from Dublin said:

    “@CocaCola Ireland excuse for deleting gay couple from ad just not credible. Cut scene could just as easily have been a Civil Partnership

    “Accurate ‘consumer research’ on issue would also tell @CocaCola that Ireland has one of the highest levels of support for marriage equality.

    “@CocaCola Ireland made a bad call. They need to apologise to the Irish LGBT community and put the deleted scene back into ad #cocacolaadvert”

    TheGayUK has asked the spokespeople for Coca-Cola about the scenes shot for the advert – as it is impossible to tell whether the scene is a marriage or civil partnership. We’ve yet to receive a response.

    The first same-sex marriages are to be legal in the UK in March 2014.

    The new ad campaign by Coca-Cola, which is called ‘Reasons To Believe’, shows a male same-sex couple holding hands in wedding suits in the UK, but the Irish version of the same advert omits the scene for a straight interracial couple walking down the aisle.

    The advert is apparently tweaked to fit where the advert is shown – with the gay couple being shown everywhere in Europe where gay marriage and civil partnerships are currently legal.

    Coca-Cola has been under fire recently for not speaking about LGBT issues in the run-up to the Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia. On the 22nd of December a PR event hosted by the company was ambushed by Peter Tatchell and other gay rights protesters.

    “Coke is sponsoring the Sochi Winter Olympics, without even a murmur of unease at the anti-gay and repressive policies of the Putin government. It is shameful acquiescence with oppression,” said Peter Tatchell, Director of the human rights advocacy organisation, the Peter Tatchell Foundation, who coordinated the protest.

    “By sponsoring the Sochi Winter Olympics, Coca Cola is rewarding the Putin regime; giving it legitimacy and credibility. Coke’s sponsorship comes at a time when homophobia and other human rights abuses are widespread in Russia.

    “It is shocking that Coca Cola has not been willing to express its disquiet at the anti-gay legislation and violence in Russia. Equally remiss is Coke’s unwillingness to speak out against other Russian human rights abuses.”

    In a survey by TheGayUK, 96.3% of respondents believed that commercially supporting Russia’s winter Olympics threatened a company’s LGBT friendly image.

  • 14 ways to beat bullying

    This month it’s been anti-bullying month here at THEGAYUK. Bullying takes many forms: Name-calling, making negative comments on your work, making someone feel worthless, physical abuse are just some examples.

    So we’ve put some tips together to help anyone out there who might be being bullied. It doesn’t matter if you’re being bullied at school, college, university, work or home.

    Remember if you are being bullied remember it’s not your fault.

    Write Everything Down
    Keep a log of every incident; write down the date, time, location, what happened, what they said and any witnesses that were around.

    Tell Someone
    Tell someone in authority and ask them what they intend to do about it. Tell them any fears you have about reprisals from the bully.

    Someone you trust, like a family member or a friend can also be useful. It means that you’re not dealing with the problem on your own; a problem shared is a problem halved.

    Get Support
    Don’t try to deal with it and your feelings about it all on your own. Get some support. Consider counselling for some additional support around your feelings.

    Know Your Rights
    All educational settings have anti-bullying policies. Some employers have these as well. Even if your employer doesn’t they will have Equality & Diversity Policies as well as other relevant policies. Read them.

    There will also be procedures for investigating and dealing with bullying – so have a look at these as well.

    Know your rights. Nobody has a right to bully another. Make authority figures aware that you know you’re rights.

    Don’t Let It Get To You
    Try to not let the things the bully says or does get to you. Bullies bully for a variety of reasons, but it’s always about their issues, not yours.

    Try Not To Show A Reaction or Smile
    Don’t let the bully see that they are getting to you. To do this, try to give them no reaction or smile. You know that phrase: Smile – it confuses people.

    Walk With Confidence
    Use your body language to make you look larger. Stand with your legs apart, your back straight and your chest pushed out slightly. Have your arms slightly away from your body and loose by your sides. Head up as you walk looking straight ahead. This does take a bit of practice but try practising in front of a full-length mirror. Believe it or not, this is how most bullies walk.

    When we see someone walk like this, especially a bully, we do the opposite with our body language. We make ourselves as small as possible including hunching our back, pulling our arms in close and looking down at the ground. Try to remember to keep this confident body language, even when you see the bully.

    The only time to avoid using body language to make you look larger is in the event of a physical assault. In that case, have your side to the perpetrator, as this will give them less of a target. In the event of a physical assault, get yourself out of the situation as soon as you can and to a place of safety.

    Remember nobody has the right to be violent towards you; likewise, you don’t have the right to be violent towards anyone else. All physical assaults should be reported to the Police.

    If It’s CyberBullying
    If the bully is sending you messages, texts, images and videos, keep them all. Don’t respond to any messages and make good use of privacy settings. Block/Ignore the bully and report them to the social media provider. If the messages get particularly abusive report them to the Police (this is why you need to keep all the messages as evidence).

    Take Sensible Steps To Keep Yourself Safe
    Keep yourself safe by carrying a mobile phone, personal attack alarm and being aware of your surroundings. Never walk home on your own and always try to stay with someone when travelling around the setting where you come into contact with the bully.

    Involve The Police
    Any violence or physical assault should be reported to the Police.

    If the bullying is homophobic or racist in nature you can report it to the Police as a hate crime. Hate crime also covers bullying that is related to disability religion, ethnicity or transgender identify. Find out more about hate crimes on the True Vision website.

    Come up with Good Coping Strategies
    We all have different coping strategies. Some good ones are: taking up sports or martial arts (these are particularly empowering and you learn to defend yourself as well), talking to people, expressing how you feel creatively (e.g. writing, music, drawing, making movies, etc.). All of these activities also raise your confidence and self-esteem – something that bullies try to damage or destroy.

    Avoid Drugs & Alcohol as a Coping Strategy
    There is research that links drugs and alcohol misuse to bullying as a coping strategy. Avoid using drugs or alcohol to cope with the bullying. It might make you forget or feel happier in the very short term (for the night), but the next day the bullying often seems a much bigger problem.

    Know that It Gets Better
    Bullying is a massive issue. Many people get bullied. Remember that the situation you’re in now won’t last forever. There will be a time that the bullying will stop.

    Avoid Becoming The Bully
    There’s some research that shows that some people who have been bullied, later become bullies. Don’t let it happen, you’re better than that! Remember how it felt to be bullied. If you’re in a position to safely stand up to a bully that’s bullying someone else – do.

    If you’re affected by bullying please check out our resources page for further help and support.

  • NEWS: Will James Arthur appear on X-Factor this weekend?

    Thousands of people have signed an online petition to have the previous X-Factor winner James Arthur banned from singing his new single on World AIDS Day.

    It’s still unclear, as momentum grows, if James Arthur will or will not appear on the show. It seems thousands of people are still not happy with the singers behaviour over the last few weeks where he made a rap video calling a fellow rapper a ‘f**king queer’.

    James apologised for the rap saying, ‘Some of the things said in this rap can be mistaken for homophobic slurs and I assure you homophobia is something I do not believe in’.

    However some people have spoken up about there being no mistake in the language choice used.

    ‘The context was “you’re a f***ing queer” and went on to say “‘you probably want to stick your dick in me” – if that doesn’t insinuate homosexuality then what does? There’s no mistaking!’, messaged one reader on GayStarNews.

    With the performance set for World AIDS Day, some have questioned if this is appropriate as more people seem less impressed with Arthur’s apology. The big question still being asked is, will James perform or not?

  • LGBT charity Push Projects is looking for your help

    Push Projects, set up by Daniel Browne the driving force behind Warwickshire Pride, is on the look out for folk to help them out with a new video to help battle homophobia and transphobia.

    The new film is to feature in schools across Warwickshire to help in the ongoing battle with homophobia and transphobia amongst students. This important project is just part of the many important fights Push Projects have taken head on.

    If you would like to help out or take part then do contact Push Projects via:

    Email: pushprojects@live.co.uk
    Facebook: /PushProjects
    Twitter: @PushProjects

    Check out their new YouTube appeal looking for talent to help in their new film project: here

  • Gay former soldier joins fight against un-diagnosed HIV

    James Wharton, a former Lance Corporal with the Blues and Royals, has taken a rapid HIV test to encourage more gay men to test for the virus during this year’s National HIV Testing Week (22nd – 29th November).

    James – the first gay person to appear on the cover of Soldier magazine, the British Army’s official publication – attended the King’s Cross centre of HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust for a simple finger-prick blood test. His negative result was delivered within 15 minutes.

    James Wharton said,
    “I’m proud to be launching National HIV Testing Week. There are lots of people out there who don’t realise how quick and easy it is to test. Modern tests are done in minutes, and you get your result there and then. It’s incredibly important to know your status. I fully believe we can win the fight against HIV, but it’s up to us to keep testing, testing, testing.”

    Figures released by Public Health England this week report that one in five gay and bisexual men with HIV remains unaware that they have the infection and is therefore more likely to pass the virus on. National HIV Testing Week, coordinated by Terrence Higgins Trust and HIV Prevention England, aims to drive down undiagnosed HIV by encouraging those most at risk to get tested.
    An estimated 100,000 gay and bisexual men tested for HIV in 2012. Terrence Higgins Trust is calling on the gay community to halve the level of undiagnosed HIV by increasing the total testing annually to 250,000.

    National HIV Testing Week runs from Friday 22nd – Friday 29th November, and coincides with the first ever European HIV Testing Week. Terrence Higgins Trust will be offering all day testing at its King’s Cross centre (314 – 320 Grays Inn Road, London) from Monday 25th – Friday 29th November, between 10.00am and 8.00pm daily.

    Please visit www.startswithme.org.uk to find your nearest testing service, order a postal testing kit, or pledge your support for the campaign.

  • James Arthur Cancels Engagements After Twittergate

    In a week in which James Arthur’s brand has come crashing down around him, the singer has cancelled all engagements.

    In a very public meltdown this week; where James Arthur released a homophobic ‘diss’ rap, his Twitter account was on management lock down, a public row with Frankie Boyle and a spat with Lucy Spraggan, the X Factor winner has been instructed by his doctor to ‘rest for several days.’

    A statement released today said:

    “James would like to apologise to his fans for any disappointment caused to them by these cancellations,” it added.

    “He hopes to get back to full health as soon as possible.”

    Arthur who won last year’s X Factor has apologised to the gay community after an argument on Twitter in which he used the homophobic slur ‘You F**king Queer’ in a rap.

    The singer was responding to an underground rapper, Micky Worthless, who criticised Arthur’s decision to enter X Factor in 2012. Arthur responded with a rap which included the gay slur, ‘You f**king queer’.

    Lucy Spraggan, who is openly gay, shared texts sent to her from the singer who is now mired in controversy.

    The text to the Tea and Toast singer, who shared the message via Twitter, said:

    ‘Lucy what are you playing at having digs at me?

    ‘Is it coz you’re a gay rights activist you had to say something as extreme as “people kill themselves every day over words like queer” are you for real?

    ‘You not think you’re being a bit over the top? Do you want attention or something? Sorry I didnt tweet you’re album link I’ve been busy but you didn’t need to be so two faced [all sic].’

    He then told her to ‘f**k off’ with her ‘career sh**e’ and then said: ‘Real people don’t care.’

    To which Spraggan replied with a text saying:

    ‘Real people are people you arsehole.’

    The text Ping-Pong ended with Arthur suggesting that Spraggan was ‘two faced’ and should ‘disappear’ to which she suggested: ‘I think you’ll do that far before I do.’

    She then tweeted:

    ‘And that was tweeted because it has to be f**kng said. Dick.’

    James Arthur momentarily took control of his Twitter account to tweet:

    ‘Keep the witch hunt coming motherf**kers. Be a sheep or do some homework. I’m off again lol #LOVE enjoy HQ gettin my lyrics wrong 😉 x’

    So is this it for James Arthur? Can he recover from this?

  • ALLOUT: Coca Cola ‘Refused To Speak Out Against Russia’s Anti-Gay Laws’

    Despite a petition that was signed by over 125,000 supporters asking the world’s biggest drinks manufacturer to speak out, Coca-Cola has failed to pass comment about Russia’s anti-gay laws.

    In an email from the petitioning site AllOut.org, organisers said:

    ‘Coca-Cola’s statement completely ignored people facing discrimination and abuse in Russia. Instead, they tried to rely on their history of supporting equality in countries like the US. That’s not enough – you can’t support lesbian, gay, bi and trans people when it’s convenient and stay silent when they need you the most.

    ‘In the time it took for Coca-Cola to issue their weak statement, the violence in Russia escalated. Anti-gay thugs broke into a meeting of organisers, beat people with baseball bats, and even shot one man in the eye. Over the weekend, another group even fired guns at a gay club in Moscow.’

    Coca-Cola is one of the Sochi Winter Olympic main sponsors, along with ATOS, Dow, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble, Samsung, and Visa.
    In research conducted by TheGayUK, we asked readers if a company’s sponsorship of the Sochi Winter Olympics threatened a company’s LGBT friendly image, to which 94.5% of respondents said that they agreed.
    In a letter to the Human Rights Campaign, Edward E. Potter, the director of Global Workplace Rights at Coca-Cola said:

    ‘We have a longstanding commitment to the LGBT community. It is reflected in our statement that is available on our public website. We will continue to demonstrate our support of the LGBT community and, more broadly, promote our values for diversity through our policies and actions.

    ‘In the spirit of the Olympic Charter, as I indicated in my June letter, we believe the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has taken seriously the human rights concerns you have raised and followed up on them with a strong sense of urgency. As part of our long-term partnership with the IOC, we continually engage with them on various issues, including those that you have raised, that relate specifically to the Olympic Games.’

    Read the letter to HRC

    AllOut are now asking supporters to help create a campaign that will target Coca-Cola around the world. To find out more click here.

  • John Barrowman Slams Happy Days Musical Producer Amy Anzel

    Musical theatre producer Amy Anzel comes under heavy criticism after ‘gay’ comments on Channel 4’s Sound Of Musicals

    Actress turned first-time producer Amy Anzel came under heavy criticism from Twitter users and industry professionals last night after the Channel 4 programme, Sound Of Musicals, aired comments from her towards an auditionee of her forthcoming production Happy Days – The Musical, about his sexuality.

    Openly gay actor and TV Star John Barrowman Tweeted:

    Holly S**t! Did Amy Anzul [sic] actually say that about Gay’s “I love my Gays, Strip away the Gay” #soundofmusicals jb

    Amy Anzel, who is currently producing a musical based on the hit TV show Happy Days came under intense criticism after she asked a dancer to ‘Strip away the gay’ before asking the unnamed dancer whether he was, in fact, gay on national TV.

    Actor Layton Williams who has starred in Billy Elliot and Thriller Live tweeted about Anzel’s comments saying:

    “I love the gays, but can you lose the gay, you are gay aren’t you” – I think what she meant was… Can you butch it up!!!

    Happy Days is about to embark on a 24 venue UK Tour and stars former Sugababe Heidi Range, Emmerdale actor Ben Freeman and Eurovision favourite Cheryl Baker.

    The show also featured the openly gay impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh, who was producing a new version of the show Barnum. Mackintosh was listed 4th on the Independent on Sunday’s Pink List in 2006.