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Howard Donald has been dropped from a pride festival after liking a series of transphobic tweets.
Howard Donald has been dropped from a Pride festival after liking a series of transphobic and anti-gay tweets
The Take That singer, 55, had been set to headline the LGBTIQA event Groovebox in July alongside the likes of Horse Meat Disco, Essel and Sam Sax, but after his actions were slammed by fans he was dropped, issued an apology – and his Twitter account has been removed.
Howard said on an Instagram story on Saturday (17.06.23) he was “deeply sorry” after making a “huge error” by “liking social media posts that are derogatory towards the LGBTQIA+ community”.
He added: “I have made a huge error in my judgement (by) liking social media posts that are derogatory towards the LGBTQIA+ community and for that, I am deeply sorry and I know I have let everyone down.
“I am really disappointed in myself and I am sorry for any hurt that I have caused by my uneducated actions.
“I clearly have a lot to learn and it’s a priority for me that I do this.”
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Nottingham Pride said about ditching Howard from its bill: “In light of recent events, Howard Donald will no longer be playing at our Nottingham Pride Festival on Saturday 29th July at Binks Yard.
“We would like to offer our thanks to the public for alerting us to the situation this morning and also appreciate your patience whilst we spoke to the relevant parties.
“The Groovebox team stands in solidarity with the wider LGBTQ+ community, we believe every person has the right to be their authentic true self without fear of persecution and hatred.
“We are working on confirming a replacement headliner alongside Horse Meat Disco, Tayce, Danny Beard and ESSEL for Nottingham Pride and will make an announcement in due course.”
According to PinkNews, before his Twitter account was axed, Howard liked Tweets such as: “Only women have periods! Men cannot menstruate. Transgender ‘women’ cannot menstruate.”
Howard had also reportedly liked a tweet from Turning Point UK founder Charlie Kirk, 29, as he called for Disney to be defunded for holding a pride concert.
Take That – now a trio also featuring Gary Barlow, 52, and Mark Owen, 51, following the departure of Jason Orange, 52, and 49-year-old Robbie Williams – have been working on an album in recent months.
They are set to headline the British Summer Time festival and have just released a cinematic adaptation of ‘Greatest Days’, the hit musical about Take That.
