Bigots rage after Keir Starmer invites Drag Race UK winner to Burns Night event

Bigots are raging because prime minister Keir Starmer invited RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Lawrence Chaney to a Burns Night event. 

Lawrence Chaney won the second season of RuPual’s Drag Race UK in 2021, becoming first Scottish queen to claim victory.

Burns Night, held annually on 25 January, celebrates the life and works of Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet. 

The prime minister’s X account posted a series of images from its Burns Night celebration on Saturday (25 January), including a photo which showed Starmer and Chaney talking together. 

Wishing Scots in the UK and around the world a very Happy Burns Night.

Earlier this week in Downing Street we celebrated Scotland and honoured the life and legacy of Robert Burns. pic.twitter.com/MZyR9N7I8x

— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) January 25, 2025

The post, which has been viewed more than two million times, has been bombarded with hateful comments, including one that stated: “You’re one of the worst Prime Ministers we’ve ever had to suffer through.”

‘You just couldn’t resist’

One wrote: “why is there always a drag Queen.” 

Another moaned: “Of course there was a bloke in woman face,” while another wrote, “of course there’s a drag queen. You just couldn’t resist.” 

One person, who referred to Chaney as “that person” claimed that she has “nothing to do with Robert Burns”, despite the fact she is a Scottish creative. 

I feel that you are just trolling us now.

That person has absolutely nothing to do with Robert Burns pic.twitter.com/FykwwXiO4y

— Miss Jo (@therealmissjo) January 25, 2025

Another claimed that Burns would be “spinning in his grave e faster than a Scottish reel at the sight of this celebration”. 

Out about celebrating Burns Night with a drag queen, it seems our Prime Minister here is trying to blend tradition with a touch of modern flair, or should I say flamboyance? Now, while I appreciate the attempt at inclusivity, one might wonder if Robert Burns himself, who was…

— David kyle bufton (@kylesparks93) January 26, 2025

Following Labour’s election victory last year, prime minister Starmer, in an exclusive statement given to PinkNews, said: “Our manifesto commits to a full, trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, a strengthening of the law so that LGBT+ hate crime attracts tougher sentences, modernising the gender-recognition process and upholding the Equality Act.”

Starmer, however, issued a troubling statement on trans rights ahead of this, saying trans women do not have the right to use women-only spaces, even if they have a gender recognition certificate. 

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