Former BNP leader Nick Griffin calls Ariana Grande a ‘faghag’
Former British National Party leader Nick Griffin branded Ariana Grande a “faghag”, days after a terror attack at her show in Manchester.
The former extreme-right leader is an avowed opponent of LGBT rights who has described gay people as “really creepy”.
Under his leadership the BNP circulated claims that “militant homosexuals” will use same-sex marriage to destroy families, naming gay people as part of an “unholy alliance” with bankers, Zionists, Marxists and the media.
But it turns out Griffin, who campaigned on abolishing legal rights for gay people, is willing to give up his homophobic principles for another target.
Taking to Twitter, he expressed concern that the terrorist attack on an Ariana Grande concert was actually anti-LGBT.
Referring to the singer using a homophobic slur, he wrote: “Why has no one pointed out that #ManchesterBombing could well have been deliberate #homophobic attack? [Ariana Grande] is renowned gay rights advocate.
“Blowing up what many Muslims would see as a ‘faghag’ gig is in same line as throwing gays off buildings. #OpenBorders have consequences!”
Griffin’s new-found concern for the LGBT community did not extend to the mass shooting at an Orlando gay bar last year.
Rather than send condolences he wrote: “Wonder what all the militant gays who sided with the Islamists against Christian, European tradition will do now?”
Grande has a large LGBT fanbase. Among those confirmed to have died is 29-year-old public relations professional Martyn Hett, whose death has prompted an outpouring of grief on social media and among his friends in the gay community.
The singer’s brother Frankie Grande is openly gay, and the siblings are both vocal about their support for equality.
Grande previously revealed that she quit the Catholic Church after her gay brother was told “God doesn’t love you”.
She said: “When my brother was told that God didn’t love him I was like, ‘OK, that’s not cool.’
“[The church] said Spongebob Squarepants is gay and he’s a sinner and he should burn in hell. And Harry Potter was a sin. And working women.
“I was like ‘Enough! First the gays, then Spongebob and now Harry Potter? Get out my house!’
“I was not having it. And the working woman thing? It was a moment for me. I needed something else to believe in.”
Ms Grande even appeared as a guest judge on drag reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2015.
He has used homophobic slurs in the past, labelling a Twitter user a “hysterical little poof”.
In October 2012 he was criticised for posting the address of a gay couple on the internet and calling for his supporters to demonstrate outside their Cambridgeshire home.
The far-right party has stepped up its anti-gay rhetoric since Griffin stepped down as leader, claiming that a BBC boss wants to put gay porn on CBeebies.
