Tory who published weird anti-LGBT Harry Potter cartoon fails in election bid
Mario Creatura, pictured with Boris Johnson, had denied responsibility for the cartoon
Conservative candidate Mario Creatura, who faced questions over a Harry Potter cartoon that branded Dumbledore a “paedophile,” has failed to get elected to Parliament.
The Tory candidate in Croydon Central, who was attempting to unseat Labour’s Sarah Jones, lost out despite a wide national swing to the Conservatives.
He received 21,175 votes, while Jones received 27,124.
Mario Creatura faced scrutiny over anti-LGBT Harry Potter cartoon
The candidate had faced questions over his conduct relating to a controversial cartoon.
Creatura was serving as publications editor at Royal Holloway university student union in 2007 when union magazine The Orbital published a cartoon suggesting gay Harry Potter character Albus Dumbledore is a paedophile.
Mario Creatura had denied responsibility for the cartoon
The piece, headlined ‘Harry Poofter and gay Prof Dumbledore’, came after Harry Potter author JK Rowling’s revelation that Dumbledore was gay.
It read: “Professor Paedo. Do Hermione, Harry and Ron have more to fear than just Voldemort?”
It asked “Was Dumbledore’s relationship with Harry as innocent as it seemed? Does [Dumbledore] apparate to G.A.Y on a Friday night?”
The cartoon’s publication ignited fury from the LGBT+ student society, which tabled a motion to censure Creatura and another officer.
Tory candidate says he was ‘cleared of wrongdoing’ over anti-LGBT cartoon
Mario Creatura has denied any responsibility for the cartoon.
He said on Twitter: “To be clear – I had nothing to do with the totally inappropriate design or the disgraceful captions.
“I commissioned the content. Which incidentally in this case was an article by an LGBT student defending the sexuality of the character.
“Then it was designed by another (who was sacked) and sent to the Editor-in-Chief (who publicly apologised) to sign off and print.
“I apologised at the time and happy to do so again.
“The caption and the design was and is disgusting. I was investigated and cleared of wrongdoing.”
However, Labour had challenged the candidate over his views.
Shadow equalities minister Naz Shah told the Independent: “Mario Creatura publishing this appalling, extremely homophobic content provides further evidence of the deep prejudice that runs through the Conservative Party.
“This is no surprise when its own leader Boris Johnson has compared gay marriage to marrying a dog, called gay men ‘tank topped bum boys’, opposed ‘gays in the military’ and opposed Labour’s plans to introduce LGBT+ education in schools. Mario Creatura is clearly not fit to be an MP.”
