THEGAYUK

Search results for: “ ”

  • Gareth Thomas: ‘What Tom Has Done Is Very Significant’

    Gareth Thomas: Tom Daley will inspire young gay people, Ex-rugby international hopes many take inspiration from Olympian’s honesty and future success.

    Writing in his blog at Sportlobster openly gay former rugby star Gareth Thomas shares his thoughts of Olympian, Tom Daley’s ‘coming out’ video.

    “Hopefully this will give other kids and adults the strength to be honest and take a lot of inspiration from his story,” says ex-Wales rugby international, Gareth Thomas, who announced he is gay in 2009, becoming one of the first openly homosexual male athletes in any major sports team.

    “I don’t think someone coming out is enough – I think it’s his story after coming out that will inspire others. If he goes to Rio and wins the gold medal and has a fantastic life after that it will show other athletes that being honest and open is a good thing to do. Hopefully he can re-focus now and concentrate on his sport and show that being a gay athlete doesn’t define who you are.

    “Tom now needs to be true to who he is and not be who anyone else wants him to be. He has a big responsibility as he is now potentially responsible for many people having the confidence to come out publically about their sexuality. His announcement will change people’s lives and make lives better. He is now a role model who has influence over thousands, maybe even millions of people so that’s a huge amount of responsibility, which I’m sure he’ll take seriously once he realises just how much influence he has.

    “I came out to my family and close friends, and then two years later I came out in a newspaper. Often people ask me why I felt I had to come out, as it’s not an issue for them. We’re now in an age dominated by social media and so many people are interested in celebrities and their lifestyles outside of what they do for a living, that you have to come out publicly if you want to walk down the street hand in hand or go to a pub and drink without people talking and spreading vicious rumours. I came out in a public way because I wanted to live my life in a way that I wanted to and not be judged by people.

    “I thought it was very personal the way Tom made the announcement – you’re watching on YouTube and it’s almost like he’s talking to you. I thought it was a very humbling and genuine way of doing it and I take my hat off to him. People might look at the life he is living and think it’s fantastic but he’s been through a lot. You could see in his eyes that all he really wants is to be Tom Daley the diver and not have lots of people questioning him for his sexuality.

    “What Tom has done is very significant in other ways, because he’s so young and he’s fairly near the start of his career – it’s a great positive message to the world. For him to do it at such a young age is not only testament to him but to society. When I was playing it just wouldn’t have been possible to come out at his age in the rugby world. It was very much a different place then and I wouldn’t have found the acceptance that I found when I eventually did do it.

    “Tom is a great diver and this is just a declaration of who he is sexually, not a declaration of who he is as a person. I’ve watched him in the Olympics and, like most of the nation, felt like I was standing on the edge of every diving board with him. I know he’s a hugely successful young lad with a great life ahead of him. I just hope that this announcement makes his life even better.

    “I was never under pressure to come out and I didn’t do it because I wanted to be some kind of flag-bearer, it was just a position that I was put in. The more people that come out as being gay, the better the world is.

    “The world is constantly changing and people get educated every single day. When I first started playing rugby, being openly gay and progressing at the sport wasn’t possible. Now it’s been proven that it can be done, not just in rugby but across all sports.”

    Work has begun on the movie of Gareth Thomas’ life story, with Oscar-nominated Mickey Rourke, who owns the rights to the film, playing his part.

    Read Gareth Thomas’ Sportlobster blog: https://sportlobster.com/news/20567/congratulations-tom-daley-why-your-announcement-is-great-for-sport.html

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Boylexe, The Shadow Lounge, London

    ★★★ | Boylexe, The Shadow Lounge, London

    Last Friday, the Shadow Lounge in Soho, paid host to the boylesque show, Boylexe, which the company performed to a packed house of rowdy guys and gals, clearly in the mood for a fun night out. In the event, I’m not sure they got quite what they expected.

    According to one of its performers, Phil Ingud, Boylexe is “a great night out filled with cabaret, stripping and touching stories… and a LOT of flesh!” which I suppose describes it pretty well. When I asked him how the show would differ from strip shows like The Chippendales and Dreamboys, he talks about the art of burlesque being different, less sexual, more about teasing and titillating, with no full frontal nudity.

    So far, so good. Only I felt that none of the routines we saw at the Shadow Lounge on Friday night were titillating enough. Clothes were divested much too quickly and there was no real sense of teasing the audience with the possibility that they might catch a glimpse of someone’s naughty bits. Not that we need to see them, of course, but there should always be the prospect, the possibility. That is what titillating means.
    A mixture of stripping and monologues, the show didn’t seem to know quite where it was pitching itself. MC, Alp Haydar presides over proceedings with an energy and enthusiasm, which manages to be both naughty and disarming at the same time, and the audience really responded to him, but this in itself caused problems, meaning that when Phil Ingut delivered his monologue about HIV, it was greeted with a rather uncomfortable silence. Maybe that was the intention. If so, it wasn’t made clear enough. Other monologues were less memorable and the strip routines, such as they were, did at least come as a welcome relief.

    We got a whiff of the circus or music hall with the entertaining strong man routines by The Mighty Moustache (aka Sir Alexander Leopold), and there was a clever reverse strip by drag queen Mr Mistress, who defiantly takes to the stage naked and drags up before our eyes.

    The line-up is never quite the same from show to show, and this Friday (December 6th), they will be joined by Nick Stiletto, who, I am told, delivers routines that are cheeky and fun, with a deft use of props, which is certainly more in the true spirit of burlesque.

    As it is, it is a somewhat uneven evening. There is the potential for a great night out, but it needs to have a clearer idea of what it is trying to achieve. According to the strippers in Jule Styne’s “Gypsy”,

    You can sacrifice your saccro
    Working in the back row.
    Bump in a dump till you’re dead.
    Kid, you gotta have a gimmick
    If you wanna get ahead.

    Maybe it’s gimmicks that are lacking.

    Boylexe plays at the Shadow Lounge on Fridays throughout December.

  • OPINION: Haters Back Off Tom Daley

    OPINION: Haters Back Off Tom Daley

    So Tom Daley came out, cue the cynical tweets jokes and comments. W, ll maybe it’s just time for haters to back off.

    Tom Daley first rose to public attention at the age of 15 as part of the Team GB in the baiting Olympics. He was the public schoolboy living the dream. He was competing on an international stage and doing what he did best and staying at the top of his field. Media profile has always been pretty high due to public appearances and interviews.

    Of course speculation about his sexuality has been rife. When he fronted the popular ITV show “splash” screen grabs flew around of him “checking out” one of the contestants . On Twitter, The results read like a witch-hunt and were particularly vicious.

    At the time I had written an article defending Tom and have since contemplated using his name in an article about celebrity’s coming out. However I took the decision to not publish in either. As a gay man, I was unwilling to add my voice to what I perceived as an online witch-hunt of a younger man.

    While I was defending him, adding my voice to an ongoing narrative seemed wrong and like I was only adding to the debate. Straight or gay everyone deserves the opportunity to come to terms with their own sexuality and their limits on their own terms. Tom has grown up in the public spot light and has been hounded by this question. For some of us, we are sure of our sexuality and proud of who we are. It’s easy to forget that some people don’t have the luxury and need to be comfortable in it before they tell people. Aside from their own comfort it’s also their right as a human being.

    When you are becoming comfortable with your own sexuality, it’s neither helpful nor useful for people to be speculating or questioning you on the matter. It one thing to be able to come out to your friends and family. It’s another to have to do it on a national stage. I wonder how many of the people critising Tom online have had to come out in those circumstances?

    People don’t come out for various reasons, confidence is one and guilt and shame are others. The constant questioning can often make the announcement seem bigger than it is. I notice that the online criticism is around what Tom actually said. He neither used the term Gay or Bisexual just simply confirmed that he was in a relationship with a man. He is using terms that he is comfortable, he feels safe in the relationship and this has given him the confidence to be able to come out publically.

    So for all the people ready to jump in with the comments:

    “This is news?”

    “About time?”

    “I knew all along”

    “In other shocking news, water is wet”

    I’m shocked at the lack of empathy being shown by the gay community, clearly coming out was so long ago that we appear to have lost touch with the frustrating and scary feelings around what can be a defining moment in any person’s life.

    The news is not that Tom Daley has come out; the news is that Tom Daley is done with hiding who he is. He’s stated that he’s happy in a relationship and ends the video by talking about his next training session and hoping that people still want to follow his journey. He’s an Olympian and that’s clearly where his life is focused. Maybe it’s time to let him get on with it. Gay straight or Bi makes no different to his performance but I hope he can walk a little taller and a little more confident in himself

     

    Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.

  • EDITOR’S LETTER | December 2013

    This month tis all about the sticky situation of homosexuality and religion and where we as homos, bi’s, trans and everything in between fit into gods’ plans – or don’t – as is often highlighted.

    Nothing gets the knickers twisted quicker than a mention of bum sex when it comes to religious men of the cloth– as Stephen Fry found out during his documentary Out There, when talk of anal completely engrossed Pastor Solomon Male in Uganda.

    Having been raised a Roman Catholic (and no I wasn’t abused sexually) and my formative years spent being educated in a RC Primary, I quickly came to realise that I, my actual person, was thoroughly frowned upon. Bible passages quickly assured me that I was to end up in hell, burning with the likes of unrepentant mass murderers and rapists, because of my love of Neighbours’ star Toby Schmitz.

    How was my 7-year-old self to know that those things are completely comparable in the eyes of God?

    Are they? If God does exist, why would s/he care who I love? I mean seriously, there’s so much more to be interested in…

    It strikes me as a bit strange at how what we get up to in bed, or don’t, as is most often the case, totally consumes the minds of those who use the ‘good’ book to justify their hate for homosexuals. I’m looking at you Pat Robertson et al. And I’m not buying that BS ‘Love the Sinner, Hate The Sin’ crap. Either love me and everything I do / or don’t and nob off.

    At the age of 14, I made the conscious decision, not to be Confirmed by a church that puts my life state lower that those who wish to procreate and live in perpetual sin and if that’s your bag, I’m happy for you, even if you can’t be!

    So this month, as it’s Christmas coming up and all, we thought we’d be a bit controversial and take a look at Religion Vs. Sexuality and ask the questions that matter to the gay community like: Does someone’s belief take priority over someone’s inherent being?

    If you’ve got something to say on the matter, why not write us an article or get involved with the comments section.

     

    Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Julie Madly Deeply, Trafalgar Studios

    ★★★★ | Julie Madly Deeply, Trafalgar Studios

    Julie Madly Deeply is an affectionate look at the life of one of the most iconic stars of stage and screen, Dame Julie Andrews.

    Lifelong fan, Sarah-Louise Young, already a well-known name on the cabaret circuit, quips and quotes her way through the show she wrote with an eloquent ease, interspersing anecdotes with just some of the many songs Andrews is best known for from Thoroughly Modern Millie, Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady and The Boy Friend.

    Young infuses the show with her natural warmth and plenty of wit, and her devotion to Andrews is evident throughout. She speaks of her with passion and charm, using her perfect diction and clear singing voice to effectively mimic the star. Young’s versatility is evident as she effortlessly jumps between characters, including Audrey Hepburn and a deliciously slurring Liza Minnelli who pops up with familiar regularly.

    Musical Director Michael Roulston plays a perfect role, supporting and guiding Young throughout. His comedic flair and wonderfully expressive manner adds a great deal, and their chemistry is clearly visible.

    The staging is sparse, with just a chair, microphone and piano, but no more is needed. The focus is entirely held by Young and Roulston, and the characters they weave into this story (including a penguin that requires some help to leave the stage).Post-interval, one more prop arrives, in the form of a truly extraordinary Alpine landscape covered dirndl. Never before have I seen a movie so accurately embodied in costume.

    There is not a dull moment in either Act, and Young joyously wraps the evening up with what can only be described as a “Sing-along-a-Julie” finale, which has even the shyest audience member singing along to a medley that reminds us all just how many of Andrews’ songs are embedded deep within us.

    A thoroughly modern retrospective which is wholly deserving of a sell-out run, Julie Madly Deeply is a witty, charming and entirely fitting tribute to a true star. I have no doubt at all that, if Julie herself were to see the show, she would be deeply flattered.

    Julie Madly Deeply plays at Trafalgar Studios until 4 January, 2014. Tickets are £20-30 from http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/julie-madly-deeply/trafalgar-studios/ and well worth every penny.

  • 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.

     

  • COLUMN | Frightful

    I tend to have a slightly over-active imagination. Maybe the diet of Hitchcock films and cheap thrillers that I devoured during my youth are to blame. I encountered three situations this week that sent my pulse racing and made me feel like Tippi Hedron in an aviary:

    1) Walking through the deserted park on my way home from work on a dark November evening, I heard a man running at me. As he approached I heard him wheezing and breathing heavily. Anticipating a knife in my back or at least a huge hairy hand round my throat, I braced myself. Of course, it was one of the ubiquitous joggers that pound the streets, getting sore nipples and suffering for a few pounds of weight loss. It was all quite harmless.

    2) Walking towards me was a man who was shouting loudly into the air. He was angry and babbling, face contorted with rage. Clearly this man was deranged and about to kick off, throwing punches and pulling out a huge sword as he moved to disembowel me. Of course, it was a man using his mobile. It’s so hard to tell nowadays who is and isn’t having a psychotic episode, as the world seems full of people shouting into mid air. It was all quite harmless.

    3) Sitting on the bus I hear the words “F**king gay boy” shouted out loud. I wince and am instantly back to my 14-year-old self, suffering homophobic abuse on a daily basis. I expect that an attack on myself is forthcoming and prepare to vacate the bus. Of course it was just teenagers, causally bantering with each other, using the words ‘gay’ and ‘gay-boy’ to mean ‘sh**e’. It was all quite harmless.

    Actually, no: the f**k number 3 was harmless. It was offensive, divisive and damaging. It might have been meant as a fun bit of cajoling but actually it’s really bloody offensive and really dangerous. Would they have used racist terms as insults to each other and thought that was O.K.? Is it O.K. to use a term describing a massive section of society to mean something is lame and useless? Is it harmless to allow this to happen when we’ve fought so hard for so many years for respect?

    Joggers are annoying and get under you feet. Mobile phone shouters are rude and ill mannered. People using the word gay to mean anything other than ‘happy’ (if they’re over 80) or homosexual are beyond despicable and in my opinion, are as dangerous and dumb as racists or people who use derogatory words for disabled people. I’m fully in support of the Stonewall Campaign against the casual use of homophobic language. I know it’s hard to change cultural practices but it’s not impossible.

  • COMMENT | What are the HIV positives?

    I’m a guy who has just celebrated living with HIV for a year now (yes, you heard right folks..celebrated) and I’ve taken a secondment recently from my @hivpozguy handle on Twitter as a result.

    Whilst twitter is an amazing source for a guy with HIV to speak with others that have this unfortunate virus, there too are its downsides when you see so much negativity on display. Article after blog after tweet of people moaning about having it; of the side effects associated with the cocktails of medication; the horrible dating experiences owing to HIV; and generally blaming anything going wrong in life on HIV – lack of sleep, colds, stomach problems, stigma issues.

    I’m probably going to open a can of worms here to those reading this from the HIV community, but please, hear me out.

    It made me wonder why don’t we have more voices out there telling us if there are any positives to living with HIV? If we are to battle the stigma of HIV, surely we’re discrediting ourselves, as well as those that came before us, when we dig that stigma hole even deeper with our cynical shovels by harping on about all the rubbish that having HIV brings?

    Here’s an idea – what if we all decided to flip this on its head? – blog about our own rejoices at the prospect of being here, being alive; write articles giving credit to those that came before us; tweet to people the optimism we now face in the advancement of science and medicine; or write about how you ‘came out’ to colleagues/friends and what positive effect this had. Just show everyone that being positive is NOT so negative all the time!

    I understand we live in a society that likes to moan and complain to each other – it’s a nice form of release, I get that – but amongst the HIV community on twitter, which is so public, this needs to stop or at the very least tone down a notch or few.

    We need good news stories out there for those that have just joined our HIV ranks. Have a look at my own blog and you will see amongst my babbling ways that it is peppered with hope and good news about me. I get emails on a regular basis telling me how useful it has been from all walks of life. I am particularly touched when I see friends and family members of newly diagnosed people getting in touch to thank me, it helps them understand what their loved ones are going through.

    So what are the positives I hear you ask? Well, here we go my intrigued one:-

    • For a start, I know my status.. do you? Finding out is the first step for us all being healthier individuals. Only by knowing our status and being tested regularly can we all help in the fight against HIV.
    • Life. Goes. On.
    HIV is not a death sentence; we’re living near-normal life spans now. This will no doubt improve even more given the advances in medicine we’ve experienced over the past 3 decades.

    • HIV is a kick up your backside to be the healthiest you can be alongside taking a few pills each day. I quit smoking, I quit drinking so much, and I got out there and I exercised, I entered cycling and running races for charities. None of this would’ve happened if it wasn’t for HIV. I’m now studying at University and my wedding is only just round the corner now. HIV has the power to transform you to try to become the best you can be.

    • Most of us are on 1-3 pill regimens a day. If anything, the pills introduce some organisation to the day. I never used to eat much in the evenings, but thanks to the pills, I do now and I eat healthier too (albeit for occasional takeaway or chocolate – sometimes it’s bad to be good and it’s good to be bad).

    • As for the side effects of the medication, like anything out there – even throat lozenges – these come with potential side effects. Not everyone gets them. Those that experience any bad effects will naturally moan about them. If things are going right in life, we don’t tend to announce it so why would anyone out there say everything is a-okay with their medication? Well, I’m happy to report – no side effects from me and I’ve been taking my pills for a year now.

    • Dating. Well I’m the kind of chap that is happy and content in or out of a relationship. It falls down to the individual, but love comes in many shapes and forms and it’s up to us to seek where we get that from – friends, family, a partner – these all have the ability to fill your cup up to the brim in different measures depending on the situation.

    Living with HIV isn’t as bleak as one may expect. I hope this piece has enlightened, and it’s not my intention to detract from the seriousness of living with HIV at all. HIV is no laughing matter, but given how much the virus has grown up and changed, along with the successful battle we are putting up against it to date, I think our attitudes towards HIV need to change and evolve as a result.

    This change can only start with those that live with it. I know that I will be refraining from moaning about it in future on my twitter account – I hope others follow suit.

    Follow HIVPozGuy

     

    Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.

  • 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.

More posts