Gareth Thomas ‘invited closeted star’ to coming out party
Gay rugby player Gareth Thomas hosted a coming out party last night in central London to thank friends for their support.
The player and a number of high-profile gay figures partied at Movida, best known as a celebrity hang-out.
He was accompanied by teammates and other rugby players.
PinkNews.co.uk was told that Thomas had invited another high-profile gay sportsman – who is still in the closet – to the event but the star declined.
The event, organised by Attitude magazine, was full of out gay celebrities and media personalities, but the question on everyone’s lips was who were the big sporting names yet to come out.
Thomas told us: “It’s not really about outing people. And, you know, when people have a game or an event, they can’t really go out drinking.”
He told the crowd, which included Will Young and Russell Tovey: “Everyone here tonight is here to celebrate the world changing. . . It’s ok to be a sportsman and it’s ok to be gay.”
Will Young said that Thomas coming out was “wonderful”. He said: “It’s definitely a step in the right direction.” But he added it would “take time” for more sports stars to follow in Gareth’s steps.
Other attendees included Graham Norton, Chris Bryant MP, gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, Dan Gillespsie Sells of The Feeling and Dr Christian Jessen.
Last week, it was revealed that Thomas is to become the patron of LGBT History Month.
