Wind farm boss apologises after saying Stephen Gately ‘had it coming’
A renewable energy company boss has been forced to apologise after posting a series of homophobic comments on social media.
Matt Braund, the project development manager of ABO Wind UK, wrote that gay sportsmen were “homsexual [sic] retarded”, said lesbians should not look like men, and said Boyzone’s Stephen Gately “had it coming”.
in June 2010, he wrote on Facebook: “I suppose i should be shouting my support for the homsexual [sic], retarded ‘sportsmen’ that are just about to represent our country abroad.”
Then in September 2013, he wrote: “Just seen a couple of island lesbians … women of that certain disposition should understand that if you hate men so much, you should stop trying to look like them!”
He also referred to singer Cheryl Cole as a “stupid geordie spastic”.
ABO Wind UK is a subsidiary of a German offshore wind company, and last year announced that it was spending £390 million to invest in the Scottish highlands.
Braund said yesterday: “I am aware of the comments that have been attributed to me on my Facebook page. These comments are accurate and they were posted by me. However, they were not intended for public consumption and they were not posted to purposely offend anyone. I apologise that some of the language used and the comments made are inappropriate.
“To remedy the situation I have now removed my Facebook page. In future I will ensure that I am more aware of the dangers of using social media to share private remarks with close friends. I do not condone the use of offensive comments and on this occasion I have let myself down.”
A spokesman for ABO Wind UK had previously said: “ABO Wind is aware of the personal comments that have been attributed to our employee Matt Braund. We have asked him to explain if these comments are accurate and on what basis they were made. We will review the situation once we have the benefit of his explanation. ABO is a company that values our engagement with the community. We disassociate ourselves from all comments of an offensive nature.”
