Take That member Howard Donald has come under fire for ‘liking’ several transphobic tweets – and Brits demanded he get the boot from an upcoming Pride festival.
The 55-year-old pop star was due to take to the stage on Saturday, July 29 as the headlining act for The Groovebox Nottingham Pride Festival. He has since been dropped from the event.
Howard has also apologised in a social media message.
Take That: Howard Donald under fire for ‘transphobic’ Twitter activity
On Saturday (June 17) screenshots of Howard’s liked tweets started circulating online. Many of these included transphobic and homophobic tweets – and one even showed support for misogynist influencer Andrew Tate.
One ‘liked’ tweet included one from right-wing organisation Turning Point UK founder Charlie Kirk. He called for Disney to be “defunded” after they held a Pride event there. Another tweet he ‘liked’ read: “Only women have periods! Men cannot menstruate. Transgender ‘women’ cannot menstruate.”
Due to his Twitter activity, his headline spot at the Pride event became slammed as well as questioned. However, it appears Howard’s Twitter account has since been deleted.
Social media users demand Howard gets boot from Pride gig
As expected, many social media users appeared fuming over the Take That star’s alleged Twitter activity – considering how he was performing at a Pride event.
Replying to the numerous screenshots circulating online, one person proclaimed: “He shouldn’t be able to perform at ANY Pride event and take money from LGBTQ+ people knowing how he truly feels about us.”
What’s more, someone else penned: “HOW IS THIS MAN HEADLINING A PRIDE EVENT?!” Meanwhile, a third wrote: “Howard should be utterly ashamed of himself…”
Pride event issues statement
Since the uproar, Event organiser Groovebox issued a statement on Saturday (June 17).
They said: “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.
“We are working on confirming a replacement headliner alongside Horse Meat Disco, Tayce, Danny Beard & ESSEL for Nottingham Pride and will make an announcement in due course.”
Howard also released a statement on his Instagram. He said: “I have made a huge error in my judgement liking social media posts that are derogatory towards the LGBTQIA+ community and for that, I am deeply sorry. 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.”
He added: “I clearly have a lot to learn and it’s a priority for me that I do this.”
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