Bake Off gay dad Dan Beasley-Harling calls out ‘insidious casual homophobia’
Great British Bake Off contestant Dan Beasley-Harling has hit out at “insidious casual homophobia” he has received since appearing on the show.
Beasley-Harling, 36, from London, is among the seven remaining contestants battling it out for the Great British Bake Off crown.
But, in a Twitter post on Wednesday (September 26), Beasley-Harling, who was crowned “star baker” in week four, revealed that he has received homophobic comments for competing on the show.
The Bake Off contestant posted about homophobia he has received. (DBeasleyHarling/Twitter)
He posted a screenshot of a homophobic tweet he received, in which a social media user said: “At least ‘yummy mummy’ doesn’t suggest they’re practising sexual activities in front of the kids, like Gay-at-Home-Dad’ does.”
Beasley-Harling wrote: “The insidious, casual homophobia that has been directed towards me has been the most disheartening part of this experience.
“I’m blessed that I don’t encounter these attitudes very often in my daily life, but it’s clear that as a community we have so much more work to do #lgbt.”
Twitter users have responded with messages of support below Beasley-Harling’s post.
“Stay strong lovely. You are amazing and it’s a joy to watch bake off with you in it xxx,” one person wrote.
Another said: “Don’t ever ever change! The world is moving on from ancient times and people need to get over themselves!! You are doing such a fantastic job.”
And one user wrote: “Hang in there Dan you’re doing an awesome job, hilarious and have a fantastic family.”
Dan baked the moment he first held his youngest child in Palm Springs, where he and his husband’s surrogate lives. (Channel 4)
The stay-at-home dad has two children—Barnaby and Constance—with his husband.
And Beasley-Harling was quick to tug on viewers’ heartstrings right from the first episode, when he chose to bake the moment when he first met his youngest child in Palm Springs, California, where the surrogate he and his husband chose is based.
The stay-at-home dad has admitted that he applied to go on Bake Off for “entirely selfish” reasons, explaining that, with his youngest soon starting school, he’s now “ready to rejoin the world of adults.”
“I have been at home looking after the kids for the last six years, so it was a chance to do something for myself,” Beasley-Harling said in the first episode of the show, which is currently in its ninth series.
“I bake in the little spare time that I have, and often work on bakes over the course of several days.
“I never work to strict time constraints like those in the tent, so that was a real challenge for me.”
