Tennis star and award-winning homophobe Margaret Court accidentally donated to an LGBT charity and we love to see it
Margaret Court. (Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Former tennis player Margaret Court, who once said trans children are “of the devil”, accidentally donated to an LGBT+ charity and this is what we want to see more of this decade.
Court, who opposes same-sex marriage and has a transphobic track record, spoke at a private function on Monday at the Esplanade Hotel in Busselton, Australia.
Although the local LGBT+ community decried the booking of Court, the hotel later confirmed it had donated $500 from the function to the Sexuality And Gender Acceptance youth group at South-West Counselling Inc, reported OutInPerth.
Margaret Court was named ‘Homophobe of the Year’ in the 2018 GLORIAs (Gay and Lesbian Outrageous, Ridiculous and Ignorant comment Awards) after likening gay people to Hitler and claiming that homosexuality is an ungodly “lust for the flesh”.
Local activists: ‘We will not let the champions of homophobia and transphobia be celebrated.’
Game, set and match, homophobes.
The hotel also sponsors and hosts the town’s LGBT+ Pride afterparty.
Love All Busselton, a local equality group, said they were “glad to see this positive gesture from the Esplanade”.
“A disproportionate number of LGBTIQ people experience poorer mental health outcomes [than] their peers,” a spokesperson said.
“These health outcomes are directly related to experiences of stigma, prejudice, discrimination and abuse.
“It’s not enough to claim it is just a ‘private function’.
“If you want to profit off doing business with homophobes – or anti-vaxxers, white supremacists, climate change deniers, or any other group causing harm in the community – you will be called out for it.
“We will not let the champions of homophobia and transphobia be celebrated in the Busselton community unchallenged.”
This isn’t the only time a known homophobe inadvertently donated to a queer cause, though. Rugby star Israel Folau, who said that “hell awaits” the gay community, saw his payment at a vegan restaurant in Australia be sent to a queer youth charity last year.
Margaret Court delivered religious sermon that rattled even Martina Navratilova.
Margaret Court gave a talk about her tennis career and the 50th anniversary of her first Grand Slam. The event was hosted by Tennis Seniors WA, of which Court is the patron of the organisation.
The accidental donation comes host days after Court and fellow tennis player Martina Navratilova traded barbs over Court delivering a bizarre anti-LGBT+ sermon.
Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon, 2019. (Visionhaus/Getty Images)
In the sermon, the tennis-player turned Pentecostal minister hit out at trans children, suggesting they should read the Bible instead of transitioning.
“You know, even that LGBT in the schools, it’s the devil, it’s not of God,” she said.
