The 2015 winner of X Factor, Louisa, has had dozens of homophobic tweets exposed.
The singer, who says she was just 14 at the time of the tweets, repeatedly used the anti-gay slur “faggot” on her Twitter from 2013, just two years before she rose to fame on X Factor.
The singer was exposed after Birmingham Pride announced that she would be headlining this year’s event.
The singer, who has failed to release an album since X Factor victory, the only winner not to do so, issued an apology saying she was “young” and “foolish”.
In a statement, she wrote: “When I was a school girl I made some inappropriate remarks on Twitter.
“I was young and foolish, and hanging around with the wrong crowd & didn’t know any better.
“That’s not an excuse, it’s an explanation.
“I’m sorry for some of the comments I made at that time on social media.
“I think it’s important for me to speak out about this and say that I don’t think it is right or appropriate for anyone to use derogatory language at any time or at any age no matter what the circumstances.”
After Birmingham Pride announced Louisa’s headline, a Twitter user published screenshots of some of the slurs.
Bit awkward for these homophobic tweets to come out on the day you announce her for your Gay Pride Festival ? pic.twitter.com/Oh097okxWY
It’s Saturday 28th May 2016 and I’m at Birmingham Pride. I attend each year and always have a great time. However, I cannot help but have mixed feelings about it too. Something sits very uncomfortably with me, despite the fact that I have a good time.
Before I continue, I must first congratulate Birmingham Pride for successfully running a festival of such magnitude. It’s not an easy task, but year after year the organisers do an amazing job of it and for that they must be praised.
As a fellow Pride organiser, the last thing I want to do is criticise another Pride event, as I know how difficult it is to put everything together. However, there is an aspect of Pride that worries me. That is the fact that the spirit of Pride seems to be getting lost along the way.
When the Pride movement began, Pride was a protest. People marched for their rights and what they believed in. Now that LGBT people have almost full equality in law, I can’t help feeling that the true meaning of Pride is being lost, despite parades and marches still being a part of such events.
I’m sure we are all aware that the larger Prides are now commercial machines that do not fully represent LGBT people or the spirit of the Pride movement. An example of this can be seen when looking at main stage performance line-ups. I only attended Birmingham Pride on the Saturday, but to my knowledge there was only one LGBT performer on the main stage that day. The rest were heterosexual and cisgender. It lacked the kind of representation that LGBT people deserve at a Pride festival.
It appears to be increasingly common these days for Pride festivals to book lots of straight acts to appear on their main stages. Having looked at several Pride line-ups, I’ve wondered where the LGBT representation is. Recently, somebody was protesting on Twitter that a certain Pride didn’t have any LGBT acts booked. I don’t know if that’s actually the case or not, but the lack of LGBT performers at LGBT Pride events is a worrying trend.
At Warwickshire Pride, 90% of this year’s main stage line-up is LGBT. It’s a percentage that we strive to increase or at least maintain each year in order for the festival to truly represent the people it primarily caters for.
That’s not to say that Warwickshire Pride is leading where others should follow. Far from it, in fact. It’s entirely up to the organisers of each Pride event to book the acts they want, move in the direction that they view as being best, and to respond to the wishes or needs of the community that they represent. At Warwickshire Pride, we pride ourselves on being a little bit different to other Prides and a lot of that comes from the feedback that local LGBT people provide. Yes, we have some fabulous elements such as Angie Brown and Wagner from the X Factor performing last year, but ultimately we try to create something in the spirit of the original Pride movement.
Perhaps it’s the activist in me. Every part of my being is about furthering the rights of LGBT people, both legally and socially. I believe that Pride is absolutely a protest, but do acknowledge that it’s a celebration too. There is nothing wrong with celebrating. However, I also feel that as a Pride movement we are in danger of losing touch with our roots.
What I’d like to see is more Prides having actual LGBT performers on their main stages, not just confined to cabaret tents. I’d also like to see more protesting and highlighting of social issues that our communities face. Finally, I’d like to see Prides being more inclusive. There are four letters in the acronym LGBT and it’s important that the B & T are remembered and included. This is something that the smaller, grassroots Pride events do very well, but it’s time that the larger Prides stepped up and truly represented their communities once more.
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Thousands of people are expected to take part in this year’s Birmingham Pride. Here’s all the latest information to help you make the most of your day.
What Time Does Birmingham Pride Start
The parade for Birmingham Pride starts at 12.00pm (noon) on Saturday 28th May and will be setting off from Victoria Square. It is expected that from start to finish the walking time of the parade is 45 minutes. However the parade itself will take much longer than that because of the number of people involved with this year’s festivities.
What’s the Birmingham Pride Parade Route.
After setting off from Victoria Square the parade will then venture down New Street and left onto High street. It will then turn right at Carrs Lane and right again on to Smallbrook Queensway. The parade will then turn left onto Hurst Street until it reaches the Pride festival site.
Motorists should expect road closures and longer waiting times than usual in the city centre and it is best to avoid the areas around Hurst Street and Victoria Square.
The Festival
The Pride festival kicks off from 12:45PM until 12:00AM and then from 1PM till midnight on Sunday. Entry to the festival is by wristband only. After 8pm only attendees over the age of 18 will be permitted to enter the festival area. Under 18s already within the site are permitted to stay, but if they leave they will not be allowed reentry.
You can still watch the parade if you don’t have a wristband.
Tickets cost £40.00 for a weekend pass or £25.00 for Saturday or £25.00for Sunday.
Concessions are priced at £20.00
Who’s Performing At Birmingham Pride?
Fleur East, Katy B, Lawson, Liberty X and Lucy Spraggan are just some of the names confirmed to perform on the Saturday. Sunday’s performers are confirmed to include Andy Bell, DJ Fresh, Lisa Stansfield, MNEK, Blonde, Vengaboys, Karen Harding and Stooshe
Birmingham Pride happens this weekend and thousands of people will be filling up the city to celebrate LGBTI life.
(C) ArenaPhotoUK-bigstock
Birmingham Pride is held over the spring bank holiday – this year that falls on the 28th and 29th May. For two days Birmingham City centre will give way to one of the UK’s biggest pride events, with over 2600 people apparently taking part in the parade.
Where does Birmingham Pride Parade Begin?
The Birmingham Pride parade starts off at Victoria Square at 12.00pm (noon) on Saturday 28th May.
What Route will the Birmingham Pride Parade Take?
Leaving Victoria Square, the parade will travel down New Street and left onto High street. It will then turn right at Carrs Lane and right again on to Smallbrook Queensway. The parade will then turn left onto Hurst Street until it reaches the Pride festival site.
The Festival
The Pride festival kicks off from 12:45PM until 12:00AM and then from 1PM till midnight on Sunday. Entry to the festival is by wristband only. After 8pm only attendees over the age of 18 will be permitted to enter the festival area. Under 18s already within the site are permitted to stay, but if they leave they will not be allowed reentry.
You can still watch the parade if you don’t have a wristband.
Tickets cost £33.55 / £37.95 for a weekend pass or £23.65 for Saturday or £19.80 for Sunday.
Concessions are priced at £15.40 to £17.60.
Who’s Performing At Birmingham Pride?
Fleur East, Katy B, Lawson, Liberty X and Lucy Spraggan are just some of the names confirmed to perform on the Saturday. Sunday’s performers are confirmed to include Andy Bell, DJ Fresh, Lisa Stansfield, MNEK, Blonde, Vengaboys, Karen Harding and Stooshe
This year’s Birmingham Pride which celebrates 20 years of the parade as we know it, promises to be the biggest ever, and the stuff they have organised certainly speaks volumes.
Here’s my handy guide to just some of the things to look forward to over the weekend of Pride.
1. The Vengaboys.
Yep you read that correctly, our favourite guilty pleasure of the 90’s are appearing at Birmingham Pride on Sunday the 29th on the main stage, so you can re-live your Hooch (or Blue Nun) fueled dance routines, while wearing a mask to protect your identity and coolness obviously. One can’t actually be SEEN watching and enjoying The Vengaboys now can we…
2. Willam Belli & Latrice Royale.
Two of the greatest queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race have been booked for the Saturday (Willam) & Sunday (Latrice) and I for one am so excited about this. Willam will be in the Cabaret arena, and Latrice is appearing at the Village Inn. Honestly I’d just be happy to watch Latrice laughing for an hour.
3. Liberty X.
Work it a little, get hot just a little and dance along to the fabulous Liberty X on the Saturday on the Main Stage. After Kevin’s success on The Voice, he’s rejoining his band mates to get our little gay asses dancing to some fabulous tunes from the early noughties. The band is also appearing later in the evening at The Nightingale Club
4. One half of Erasure.
Luckily the singing half of Erasure, Andy Bell. We all know A Little Respect and you can dance along with him on the Sunday on the main stage. For us gays born before 1995, Erasure was the campest thing we’d seen, and it was amazing.
5. Vicky Jackson.
The brilliant and talented Vicky Jackson who sings her heart out at every performance and impersonates some of our favourite artists including Katy Perry, Pink and Amy Winehouse will be gracing the Cabaret stage on the Sunday. I’ve never been disappointed by what she does, and even had the pleasure of performing on stage with her once
6. The random acts.
Sometimes you can find a hidden gem performing in the various bars and clubs around the Gay Village that you forgot about seeing on the line-up or who was booked last minute. A couple of years ago and during a slightly (OK, very) drunken moment, I walked into one of the bars and saw this little ginger Liverpudlian singing away, and loudly announced during a quiet bit in the song “Is that f**king Sonia?” (it was) I got a smile in return.
7. The Parade
Always a great start to the weekend, the actual march itself is something amazing to see, with so many varied people taking part and having the time of their lives. You can’t help but smile at the floats and the shockingly hot men in skimpy shorts.
The whole weekend is a brilliant opportunity to just let loose and be yourself. There’s going to be 80,000+ people there, from bears to drag queens, you will find people you relate to and you’ll find yourself having the most random conversations with people you meet
outside the bars, clubs and arenas
9. The Gale – Or The Nightingale Club to be precise.
The biggest gay club in the village. It never fails to deliver, and this year Alesha Dixon is appearing there to perform her own and Mis-teeq’s tracks. But if you don’t want to see her, it has multiple floors with various styles of music.
10. Something for everyone.
There’s so many different types of acts that you would be hard pushed to NOT find something that you can enjoy. From DJ’s to pop royalty, there is going to be something there for you, so kick back and relax with a beer in hand trawl round the various stages and clubs with your friends old and new
The full line up is available here and while tickets are limited now, there are still some available, and you can get some on the gate on the day. But be aware it’s going to be incredibly busy that weekend.
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.
