Tag: Josh Rivers

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  • These celebs are guilty of sending Anti-LGBT Tweets

    These celebs are guilty of sending Anti-LGBT Tweets

    Even in celeb-land anti-LGBT senitment is rife…

    The word “Faggot” has been used million times of times. According to nohomophobes.com, it’s been used over 39,500,000 times on Twitter since 2012. It shows just how far we’ve yet to go. However what is more distressing is that the celeb world has also had its fair share of anti-gay Tweeting action. We’ve done some digging and here are our top celebrity Twitter gaffes.

    50 Cent

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    If you a man and your [sic] over 25 and you don’t eat pu**y just kill yourself damn it. The world will be a better place. Lol”

    50 Cent tweeted this in 2010, a day after a 19-year-old college student committed suicide, making national news, because of homophobic bullying.

    We wouldn’t call this a laughing matter.

    Alec Baldwin

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    The actor took to Twitter to make a seemingly anti-gay slur towards the New York Daily News Editor in Chief British-born Colin Myler.

    “Her Highness Colin Myler… Please don’t do to the News what you did to NOTW…,”

    Baldwin tweeted, just after taking to the microblogging site to write:

    “Ever since that English Queen took over the Daily News, they lie like the Post…”

    It’s not the first time that Baldwin has been under fire for anti-gay language. In the 1990s, during a protest in New York City, he allegedly referred to a horse-drawn-carriage driver as a “fagg*t.” and last year he ridiculed Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), Tweeting:

    “We need to have Inhofe retire to a solar-powered gay bar.”

    Andre Gray

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    First up is Burnley footballer Andre Gray who posted a number of homophobic and offensive tweets in 2012. He was fined £25,000 and banned from four games.

    One tweet read,

    ‘Is it me or are there gays everywhere? #Burn #Die #Makesmesick.’

    Amir Khan

    I’m A Celeb’s, Amir Khan, was allegedly found to have Tweets on his timeline which were found to be homophobic. In a tweet said to have been sent in 2011, Khan allegedly wrote, “Nothing against them. Sort it out lad. No wonder pple think u like boys haha”.

    In another post from 2010, a tweet which read, “Abuse @saj23x for keeping pictures on his phone, he is defiantly gay after today’s tweet. Asll the guys beware, @saj23x is GAY” was sent from his official account.

    Amy Schumer

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    For someone who might consider herself an LGBT+ advocate, she certainly knows how to swing an anti-gay slur. In November 2012 she used the word fag on Twitter saying, “Enjoy skyfall fags. I’m bout to get knee deep in Helen Hunt”.

    Azealia Banks

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    The rapper has repeatedly taken to Twitter to call gay men Faggots and has on several occasions verbally attacked Perez Hilton, calling him anti-gay slurs.

    Blake Shelton

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    Blake Shelton tweeted a series of messages in 2010 which would later go on to haunt him before appearing on The Voice USA in 2016.. In one message he wrote,

    “Grown men who wear Chuck Taylor’s may as well write on their fore head “Cucumbers turn me on!!!”

    and then a year later he wrote,

    ”Standing in line at a coffee shop in LA talking with the man in front of me. He orders a skinny caramel latte. I couldn’t tell he was gay!!!’

    One Twitter user managed to find a cache of tweets considered homophobic,

    https://twitter.com/blakeshelton/status/765957327988072448/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    Cee Lo Green

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    Answering a music critic who called Cee Lo Green’s show “gross” and “inept”, the “Forget You” hit-maker tweeted,

    “I respect your criticism, but be fair! People enjoyed last night! I’m guessing you’re gay? And my masculinity offended you? Well f**k you!”

    Chelsea Handler

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    In 2010 Comedian Chelsea Handler used the anti-gay slur “fag” in a Tweet, she wrote,

    Chris Stokes

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    The Coventry City footballer Chris Stokes Caused outrage after he appeared to tweet an anti-gay slur.

    ‘This games [sic] embarrassing to watch!’ he said. ‘Bunch of faggots.’

    The tweet was sent whilst Leicester City won the Premier League in May 2016.

    Daniel Thomas

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    The Welsh footballer was £500 and handed a one-match suspension for sending an abusive message to Olympic diver Tom Daley on Twitter.

    Port Talbot Town midfielder Daniel Thomas was cleared of any charges earlier this year by police after tweeting a homophobic message relating to Daley and his diving partner Peter Waterfield’s performance at the London 2012 Olympics in July.

    A tweet later appeared on the footballer’s account that said:

    “If there is any consolation for finishing fourth at least Daley and Waterfield can go and bum each other #teamHIV.”

    Hazel E

    Not Twitter this time, but on Instagram. Hazel E star of the Love & Hip-Hop Hollywood TV show asked her gay fans to forgive her for saying, “burn in hell just like God said in the bible”

    She made the comment in a comment on her boyfriend’s already homophobic Instagram post, which proclaimed that he said he hoped all gays would die and go to hell.

    Jack Maynard

    Jack Maynard’s departure from I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here caused a huge media stir – with millions of viewers at home in the UK wondering what he had done so wrong to warrant leaving the jungle after just two days. Well, dozens of anti-gay tweets were discovered on his Twitter timeline dating back at least five years. Numerous racist slurs were also found on his timeline. The YouTuber left the jungle and it took him nearly three days to apologise for his error. It was an apology that didn’t go down particularly well – after he used a well-worn cliché “I’ve got lots of gay friends” during his interview with The Sun.

    Jared O’Mara

    An MP who sat on the Women’s and Equality Committee had past homophobic and sexist forum comments unearthed by the political website, Guido Fawkes. The MP, who unseated Nick Clegg in the last General Election, was said to have used numerous anti-gay slurs on the Morrissey Solo website forum and Drowned In Sound. Terms such as “fudge packers” and driving “up the marmite motorway” to describe gay people were used and a message was written that said gay people were “bitter and resentful about being homosexual”.

    The Labour party took action to suspend the newly elected MP for Sheffield Hallam. He also resigned from the Women’s and Equality committee.

    Jeremy Clarkson

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    The former Top Gear presenter was accused of homophobia after he tweeted a “judge packer” tweet.

    Jeremy Clarkson uploaded a picture of himself and Richard Hammond standing outside a fudge factory with the caption “We have got jobs at last. Here. As packers.”

    Josh Rivers

    Josh Rivers, the new editor of Gay Times was suspended and then fired after just 20 days in the job, following the discovery by Buzzfeed, of antisemitic, lesbian hating, body shaming and anti-Asian tweets in his Twitter timeline. The majority of tweets were published between 2010 and 2015.

    Rivers was working on a mandate of promoting inclusivity and diversity at the magazine when a number of incendiary comments on his Twitter account between 2010 and 2015. Some of the tweets which have been deleted described Jews as “gross” and some directed hatred towards lesbians, overweight women and men, and Asian and Chinese people. Apologising for his tweets, Rivers wrote: “To every single person who is hurt, offended and disappointed: I’m sorry”.

    He has now deleted his profile and now works for UK Black Pride as the Communications Director.

    Katie Hopkins

    This year Katie had problems with Rainbow police cars, police marching in pride parades, non-binary people, transgender people, the LGBT+ community in general. To be honest, her twitter timeline is full of moans and angry tweets – but fear not, apparently she deletes her entire catalogue once a week, so the offensiveness doesn’t last long. Screengrabs, however, are forever.

    Liam Gallagher

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    Former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher was accused of homophobia after “batty boy” tweet.

    Liam Gallagher faced tough criticism after a homophobic tweet was sent from his Twitter account, in which he used a gay slur to describe the behaviour of Russian football supporters.

    In the  tweet the former Oasis singer said,

    “Russian hooligans skintight shorts bumbags batty boy muscles ha ha I’d be more worried bout getting me arse pinched LG X”

    Lily Allen

    British singer, Lily Allen used the word “fags” on Twitter and got a response, trouble was it probably wasn’t the one that she was probably hoping for. Her Tweet, “Fags Hate Trump” did not go down well it’s fair to say. The singer was swiftly admonished by many in the community. Some called the singer ‘homophobic’.

    Miriam Quiambao

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    A former beauty queen from the Philippines took to twitter earlier in the year to tell her 300,000+ followers:

    “Homosexuality is not a sin but it is a lie from the devil. Do not be deceived. God loves gays and wants them to know the truth. LGBT or straight, man or woman, young or old, we all deserve love, respect and acceptance. We all need a saviour on Jesus Christ. God loves”

    She did later apologise for the comments.

    Nick Griffin

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    The least said about this former BNP leader the better. However, Nick Griffin does make our Anti-Gay Tweeter list.

    Last month he called upon his legion of fans to make their merry way to the house of Michael

    Black and John Morgan who won their discrimination case against a B&B owner who wouldn’t allow the couple to stay the night at her business. He tweeted from his @nickgriffinmep account two tweets which read: “So Messrs Black & Morgan, at [their address]. A British Justice team will come up to Huntington & give you a…

    “…bit of drama by way of reminding you that an English couple’s home is their castle. Say No to heterophobia!”

    His Twitter account was suspended for one day before being reinstated.

    Heterophobia? Yes, you read that right.

    Nile Ranger

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    A forward for Newcastle and Walsall’s Manny Smith were handed fines by the FA for their conduct. The content of the tweet is unknown however the FA decreed that the behaviour was “improper and/or brought the game into disrepute”, including “a reference to a person’s or persons’ sexual orientation”

    Ranger must pay £6,000, Smith £1,200.

    Ravel Morrison

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    Morrison was criticised and fined after a violently-worded message appeared on his Twitter page with a gay slur this year.

    He was fined £7000 for the outburst.

    The message on 19-year-old Morrison’s account reportedly read:

    “Crack head? Go suck out u little faggot your a guy that talks if u see me you try slap me I’m in manchester every week.”

    Rebekah Vardy


    Yet another 2017 I’m A Celeb alumni was allegedly found to have casual homophobia found on her Twitter timeline. Vardy never commented on the Twitter and has not apologised for the offensive tweet.

    Roland Martin

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    A US political commentator Roland Martin has apologised for causing any offence after sending a tweet during Sunday’s Super-Bowl which suggested: “smacking the ish” out of a man who enjoyed David Beckham’s H&M advert.

    Sarah Silverman

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    Silverman has used anti-gay slurs numerous times on Twitter. In 2010 she used the word “faggot” to describe a new series of The Bachelorette.

    Stormzy

    Nearly 20 homophobic tweets were found on the BBC’s ‘Artist of The Year’ – Stormzy’s twitter account. The tweets, some of which dated back to 2011 used homophobic slurs, like “no homo” and “faggot” to blast critics on his social media account.

    Stormzy was swift to issue an apology. In a statement, he wrote that the messages sent from his account were “unacceptable and disgusting”. He also said sorry and that he regretted sending the messages.

    Tom Barber


    Homophobic tweets sent by Big Brother housemate, Tom Barber came back to haunt him after it was revealed that he allegedly used the homophobic slur “faggot” and used “gay” and “lesbian” as pejorative descriptions in tweets sent to friends.

    Channel 5, the broadcast of Big Brother refused to remove him from the show, despite previous housemates from other series being removed for racist language on their Twitter accounts.

    Zoella

    One of Britain’s most popular YouTubers, Zoella, was caught with homophobic comments on her Twitter timeline. The 27-year-old who has over 12 million subscribers on the Google-owned platform, tweeted, “I find it funny when gay men spit… it’s like they’re trying to be a bit macho but never works”. The tweet dated back to 2010, before Zoella became the household name.

    In 2011 she allegedly wrote a tweet with an anti-trans slur saying,  “Are they honestly letting a tranny in a policeman hat speak to them like that? How odd! Haha x”.

    In her apology she wrote, “I’ve seen a few of my old tweets from 7/8 years ago floating around (which I have now deleted) using words like “chav” “skank” and other words I wouldn’t use now as part of my language and lot of them were taken out of context referring to TV shows but I would never say those things now and I’m sorry if I have offended anyone, that was not my intention.

    “Obviously that is not who I am today and I’d like to think I’m a little older and wiser! I’m not perfect and I’ve never claimed to be, I’m only human!”

  • 13 stars who should have checked their social accounts for homophobia and slurs in 2017

    The stars were out in force with the blatant, everyday and casual homophobia this year…

    It’s amazing how much homophobia there is on Twitter. Even some of the UK’s most loved celebs have been found to have messages that we’re sure they’d wished they checked for or never sent in the first place. Here are 13 celebs, who made the news this year, caught with having slurs against the LGBT+ community on the social timelines.

     

     

    Zoella

    One of Britain’s most popular YouTubers, Zoella, was caught with homophobic comments on her Twitter timeline. The 27-year-old who has over 12 million subscribers on the Google-owned platform, tweeted, “I find it funny when gay men spit… it’s like they’re trying to be a bit macho but never works”. The tweet dated back to 2010, before Zoella became the household name.

    In 2011 she allegedly wrote a tweet with an anti-trans slur saying,  “Are they honestly letting a tranny in a policeman hat speak to them like that? How odd! Haha x”.

    In her apology she wrote, “I’ve seen a few of my old tweets from 7/8 years ago floating around (which I have now deleted) using words like “chav” “skank” and other words I wouldn’t use now as part of my language and lot of them were taken out of context referring to TV shows but I would never say those things now and I’m sorry if I have offended anyone, that was not my intention.

    “Obviously that is not who I am today and I’d like to think I’m a little older and wiser! I’m not perfect and I’ve never claimed to be, I’m only human!”

    Jack Maynard

    Jack Maynard’s departure from I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here caused a huge media stir – with millions of viewers at home in the UK wondering what he had done so wrong to warrant leaving the jungle after just two days. Well, dozens of anti-gay tweets were discovered on his Twitter timeline dating back at least five years. Numerous racist slurs were also found on his timeline. The YouTuber left the jungle and it took him nearly three days to apologise for his error. It was an apology that didn’t go down particularly well – after he used a well-worn cliché “I’ve got lots of gay friends” during his interview with The Sun.

    Stormzy

    Nearly 20 homophobic tweets were found on the BBC’s ‘Artist of The Year’ – Stormzy’s twitter account. The tweets, some of which dated back to 2011 used homophobic slurs, like “no homo” and “faggot” to blast critics on his social media account.

    Stormzy was swift to issue an apology. In a statement, he wrote that the messages sent from his account were “unacceptable and disgusting”. He also said sorry and that he regretted sending the messages.

    Jared O’Mara

    An MP who sat on the Women’s and Equality Committee had past homophobic and sexist forum comments unearthed by the political website, Guido Fawkes. The MP, who unseated Nick Clegg in the last General Election, was said to have used numerous anti-gay slurs on the Morrissey Solo website forum and Drowned In Sound. Terms such as “fudge packers” and driving “up the marmite motorway” to describe gay people were used and a message was written that said gay people were “bitter and resentful about being homosexual”.

    The Labour party took action to suspend the newly elected MP for Sheffield Hallam. He also resigned from the Women’s and Equality committee.

     

    Katie Hopkins

    This year Katie had problems with Rainbow police cars, police marching in pride parades, non-binary people, transgender people, the LGBT+ community in general. To be honest, her twitter timeline is full of moans and angry tweets – but fear not, apparently she deletes her entire catalogue once a week, so the offensiveness doesn’t last long. Screengrabs, however, are forever.

     

    Piers Morgan

    Where to begin. Piers Morgan’s timeline has been filled with rage against people whose gender doesn’t conform to the binary of man and woman. Piers has fought with campaigners on his ITV show and on his own Twitter timeline and even written about it in his column with the MailOnline.

    Earlier in 2017, the presenter condemned LGBT charity Stonewall, calling them “Piers-phobic” after a spokesperson blasted him for “bullying” a couple who identified as non-binary on Good Morning Britain.

    Josh Rivers

    Josh Rivers, the new editor of Gay Times was suspended and then fired after just 20 days in the job, following the discovery by Buzzfeed, of antisemitic, lesbian hating, body shaming and anti-Asian tweets in his Twitter timeline. The majority of tweets were published between 2010 and 2015.

    Rivers was working on a mandate of promoting inclusivity and diversity at the magazine when a number of incendiary comments on his Twitter account between 2010 and 2015. Some of the tweets which have been deleted described Jews as “gross” and some directed hatred towards lesbians, overweight women and men, and Asian and Chinese people. Apologising for his tweets, Rivers wrote: “To every single person who is hurt, offended and disappointed: I’m sorry”.

    He has now deleted his profile.

    Twitter

    Twitter itself came under fire this year for bi-erasure and for suspending a number of popular gay/ LGBT+ websites. Twitter effectively deleted the #bisexual hashtag from showing photos, videos and news items which used that tag. When users tried to use that hashtag in the search bar, they were met with a “no results” page. It took the platform several days to fix the issue.

    Lily Allen

    British singer, Lily Allen used the word “fags” on Twitter and got a response, trouble was it probably wasn’t the one that she was probably hoping for. Her Tweet, “Fags Hate Trump” did not go down well it’s fair to say. The singer was swiftly admonished by many in the community. Some called the singer ‘homophobic’.

    Amir Khan

    Another Celeb from this year’s I’m A Celeb, Amir Khan, was allegedly found to have Tweets on his timeline which were found to be homophobic. In a tweet said to have been sent in 2011, Khan allegedly wrote, “Nothing against them. Sort it out lad. No wonder pple think u like boys haha”.

    In another post from 2010, a tweet which read, “Abuse @saj23x for keeping pictures on his phone, he is defiantly gay after today’s tweet. Asll the guys beware, @saj23x is GAY” was sent from his official account.

    Amir has not apologised or commented on the tweets.

    Rebekah Vardy

    Yet another 2017 I’m A Celeb alumni was allegedly found to have casual homophobia found on her Twitter timeline. Vardy never commented on the Twitter and has not apologised for the offensive tweet.

    Hazel E

    Not Twitter this time, but on Instagram. Hazel E star of the Love & Hip-Hop Hollywood TV show asked her gay fans to forgive her for saying, “burn in hell just like God said in the bible”

    She made the comment in a comment on her boyfriend’s already homophobic Instagram post, which proclaimed that he said he hoped all gays would die and go to hell.

    Tom Barber

    Homophobic tweets sent by Big Brother housemate, Tom Barber came back to haunt him after it was revealed that he allegedly used the homophobic slur “faggot” and used “gay” and “lesbian” as pejorative descriptions in tweets sent to friends.

    Channel 5, the broadcast of Big Brother refused to remove him from the show, despite previous housemates from other series being removed for racist language on their Twitter accounts.

  • COMMENT | Gay Media… Do better

    COMMENT | Gay Media… Do better

    Gay Times never should’ve hired Josh Rivers…20 days.

    That’s how long Josh Rivers lasted as editor-in-chief of Gay Times, Britain’s oldest and arguably most prestigious gay men’s magazine. Yesterday, the magazine suspended him following a Buzzfeed article which exposed bigoted and offensive tweets Rivers sent between 2011 and 2015 in which he attacked just about every marginalised group you can imagine.

    “I’ve just seen a girl in the tightest white tank & lord help me if she’s not pregnant, she should be killed. #gross” reads one tweet. “I wonder if they cast that guy as the ‘The Jew’ because of that fucking ridiculously large honker of a nose,” he tweeted in 2011. “Look here, tranny. 1) you look like a crackhead 2) YOU’RE A TRANNY & 3) your wig doesn’t deserve a mention. Avert your eyes, honey,” he said in a transphobic post.

    These are just the tip of the iceberg. While he did apologise, it clearly wasn’t enough. Following a public backlash, Gay Times sacked Mr Rivers today, effective immediately.

    The saga of Josh Rivers begs a lot of questions. Previously Gay Times’ marketing manager, Mr Rivers was promoted to editor despite having no discernable journalistic experience. A Google search on Wednesday turned up a negligible web footprint for any journalist, let alone the editor of one of Britain’s premier lifestyle magazines.

    This was part of the magazine’s “reboot,” an attempt to diversify their staff, output, and appeal beyond white gay men. Mr Rivers, who is multi-racial, was to head this reboot and make the magazine more appealing and relevant to a wider audience.

    Obviously, that failed. Instead of finding a bright young writer or editor to take the magazine in this brave and laudable new direction, James Frost – the man who bought Gay Times back in March – hired a bigot with a Twitter history to rival Donald Trump’s in the breadth of communities he’s insulted.

    “To every single person who is hurt, offended, and disappointed: I’m sorry,” Mr Rivers said in a tweet on Wednesday. “The tweets are horrible. They are abhorrent. They are ugly. They are so hateful. These tweets from my past show a deep self-loathing that I’ve worked hard to overcome.”

    This apology did little to placate many in our community, including me. I tweeted at Mr Rivers that “I’m just curious what you’ve done that shows you’ve changed and repudiated these horrible views.” Mr Rivers never responded.

    He should have. I firmly believe people deserve second chances. We’ve all had messy politics before. People grow and change as they mature. I wouldn’t want some of my opinions as a 17-year-old to be held against me at 31.

    But here’s the crux of the issue. Mr Rivers wasn’t 17 when he sent these tweets. He’s my age, which means the bulk of his offensive tweets were sent when he was about 25. 2011 wasn’t 1911. He should have known better. That he didn’t shows, at best, a stunning lack of judgment and at worst a strain of hatred and bile that shouldn’t be tolerated in a locker room, let alone on Twitter and certainly not in the pages of a national magazine.

    The issue is further complicated by the fact that the only way we know Mr Rivers disavows his old tweets is by his most recent tweet. He’s gone radio silent since Buzzfeed published its piece, and as I said, he has little web presence to go on. It’s hard to judge his sincerity because we don’t have a body of work to read. He’s as green as they come, which really begs the question – why was he promoted to editor in the first place? How did Mr Frost and Gay Times not know about Mr Rivers’ past? Buzzfeed found these tweets with little more than an advanced Twitter search. It’s clear nobody did their due diligence before Mr Rivers took the helm.

    That’s beyond unfortunate, especially given the circumstances. Trying to diversify Gay Times – and gay media in general – is a noble goal, and many (including me) were excited that a Black and Minority Ethnic gay man was at the helm of one of our most notable publications. Gay media has for too long been dominated by fit young white men, and it’s high time that we include more voices more regularly.

    For their part, Gay Times sought today to assure readers that even though Mr Rivers has been sacked, the magazine plans to continue with its rebranding. In a statement, Gay Times promised that it “will relaunch on 30 November, with what is quite possibly the most significant overhaul in its 33-year history.” Articles by Mr Rivers will be removed, but the “new-look magazine will feature submissions and significant contributions from the far reaches of our wonderful and diverse LGBTQ community.”

    What this “overhaul” will look like is anyone’s guess, though. If the debacle of Mr Rivers’ hiring-and-firing shows us anything, it’s that this diversification of gay media is off to a rocky start and will be harder than perhaps initially thought. Without announcing an interim editor-in-chief, it’s unclear what the future holds for Gay Times.

    Hopefully the magazine will again be helmed by a BME editor, preferably one with journalistic experience who has been thoroughly vetted before being hired. But it’s also important that all gay media, not just Gay Times, continue to bring in diverse writers, photographers, editors, and staff.I’m interested to see how Gay Times (and gay media generally) proceeds after this.

    Whatever happens, though, we need to not let this set us back on our road to including move voices. Mr Rivers is one man who should never have been given the job he had, but he’s not the only gay BME writer. There are hundreds of talented young BME LGBT people ready to take his spot. Hopefully, Gay Times will hire one of them – preferably one who doesn’t have such a checkered past.

     

    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.

  • COMMENT | Social Media: Is forgiveness a forgotten concept?

    Sometimes people are full of sanctimonious self-satisfying pandering to the masses actions.

    In the name of reasonableness do we not all have a past? I know I have said things in the past I am not proud of. I probably hold opinions now, some would disagree with.

    I loathe being near people who smoke, possibly more than any other person than an ex-smoker! It is those who are reformed who often have the strongest opposite view of the things they have taken part in.

    Life is about growth. We only learn who we are by experiencing life and that includes making mistakes.

    Whether it is an editor, a politician, a member of the local parish council, a film star or a worker at the checkout at the local supermarket, we are all likely to have sinned.

    “Let he or she who hath not sinned cast the first stone.” John 8:7

    Where would we be without forgiveness and understanding of change to promote growth. The best example I can think of where not holding a grudge against past actions would be the Germany of the Second World War, through to reunification and where it is now a strong European power.

    Please give it a rest. It is getting to be more frequent than a re-run on the BBC

    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.

  • Gay Times fires editor after offensive social media comments

    Gay Times magazine has fired the newly appointed Editor, Josh Rivers, following the unearthing of dozens of offensive tweets.

    Gay Times magazine has taken steps to fire the editor, Josh Rivers, following on from an investigation by Buzzfeed into the social media posts of the new appointee.

    In a statement, the magazine said Rivers’ employment had been terminated with “immediate effect” and that all previously contributed content by the former employee had been removed and that the planned revamp of the magazine, due on the 30th November, will go ahead.

     

    It went on to apologise for any offence that was caused and said it did not tolerate the views published by Rivers.

    Rivers who was working on a mandate to promote inclusivity and diversity at the magazine described Jews as “gross” and directed hatred towards lesbians, overweight people, the disabled and Asian and Chinese people in the tweets unearthed by Buzzfeed.

    In a post published on Twitter, Rivers wrote, that he was “sorry” and describe the tweets as “hateful”.

  • Star columnist threatens to walk from Gay Times after editor’s foul tweets unearthed

    Gay Times‘ star fitness columnist, Charlie King has threatened to walk from the title unless the Editor, Josh Rivers is fired.

    Charlie King, who has contributed to Gay Times magazine for two years as their fitness expert and was their cover star in January this year, has threatened to walk from the legendary title unless a new editor is found.

    Taking to social media, King told his 420,000 Twitter followers that he would not work with anyone like Mr Rivers, “apology or not”.

    Speaking to THEGAYUK.com King said, “I absolutely love the magazine and trust they have done the right thing”.

    Yesterday it emerged that Josh Rivers, who had only just been promoted to the outlet’s Editor in October had sent dozens of offensive tweets aimed numerous minority groups. The tweets were sent between 2010 and 2015.

    Rivers who was working on a mandate to promote inclusivity and diversity at the magazine described Jews as “gross” and directed hatred towards lesbians, overweight people, the disabled and Asian and Chinese people in the tweets unearthed by Buzzfeed.

    In a post published on Twitter, Rivers wrote, that he was “sorry” and describe the tweets as “hateful”.

    Gay Times reacted swiftly to denounce Rivers’ words and said that he was suspended, pending an investigation.

    This article has been updated to include a quote from Charlie King.

  • Gay Times suspends new editor, Josh Rivers

    The owner of Gay Times Magazine has suspended the new Editor, just weeks after he was installed in the post after antisemitic, homophobic, body shaming and anti-Asian tweets were discovered.

    Josh Rivers, the new editor of Gay Times has been suspended following the discovery by Buzzfeed, of antisemitic, lesbian hating, body shaming and anti-Asian tweets in his Twitter timeline.

    The majority of tweets, were published between 2010 and 2015, the antisemitic Tweet read,

    “I wonder if they cast that guy as “The Jew” because of that f**king ridiculously large honker of a nose. it must be a prosthetic. Must be”.

    Rivers who was working on a mandate of promoting inclusivity and diversity at the magazine has a number of incendiary comments on his Twitter account between 2010 and 2015. Some of the tweets which have been deleted described Jews as “gross” and some directed hatred towards lesbians, overweight women and men, and Asian and Chinese people.

    Previously Josh had been a marketing exec at the company.

    In a post published on Twitter, Rivers wrote, that he was “sorry”.

     

    The magazine released a statement, which said that Rivers’ past tweets did not “align with the values of Gay Times”.

  • Massive changes at Gay Times as both Editor and Deputy Editor “step down”

    And replaced by the previous marketing manager, Josh Rivers.

    Massive changes are afoot at the UK’s oldest gay magazine Gay Times. Both the Editor and Deputy Editor have been replaced by newbie editor, Josh Rivers, who was previously the magazine’s marketing manager. He is also the co-founder of Series Q, a network for mentorship, support and empowering LGBT entrepreneurs.

    The magazine is due to be relaunched for its next issue with a complete overhaul – which will see an “a shift in content to build a relevant journal that will inspire the modern man”.  A statement from Gay Times also notes that Josh us the ” first gay man of colour to lead a major UK gay publication”.

    The shake-up follows on from the magazine’s purchase by the new owner, James Frost, from Millivres Prowler.

    This is the second time that Gay Times has rebranded in as many years. The first came in 2015 when the magazine changed its name from GT to Gay Times.

    Speaking about the forthcoming changes the company’s CEO, Mr Frost said, “Since we met in 2016, I’ve been very impressed with Josh’s passion, enthusiasm and dedication to serving the LGBT+ community. It’s Josh’s consistently inclusive and expansive view of our community, and his fresh ideas and enthusiasm that make him the perfect person to lead Gay Times. I am thrilled he’s accepted the challenge; we share the belief that contemporary men are looking for something more from LGBT+ media, and together with the team at Visual Talent, we are going to deliver exactly that!”

    Taking to Twitter, Darren Scott, tweeted the cover of his final issue, saying, “A true labour of love, this is my 107th and final issue of Gay Times”.

    Ryan Butcher added, “Hello yes hi quick announcement but after four years and 50 issues I have decided to step away from Gay Times and Gay Media in general”.

    Taking to Twitter, the new editor of Gay Times, Josh wrote,