Drag Race UK stars slam GB News host’s ‘disgusting’ anti-LGBTQ+ remark
Crystal and Divina de Campo both backed calls for Ofcom to take action against GB News. (Getty)
Stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK have joined calls for broadcast watchdog Ofcom to take action over an offensive remark during a broadcast on GB News.
The right-wing channel came under fire over a comment made by political commentator Josh Howie during Headliners; a segment that looks at the headlines of the day.
Howie highlighted a story about Episcopalian bishop Mariann Budde, referring to a quote from her church which backed her plea to Donald Trump to “show mercy” to queer people.
Reading the quote, which backed the “full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons,” Howie responded: “I just want to say that that includes paedos.”
Viewers branded the comment “disgusting”.
Good Law Project, a UK-based organisation, received more than 71,000 complaints as part of its campaign demanding action from Ofcom, calling the comment and the TV channel “outrageous and dangerous”.
On Monday (17 February), members of the not-for-profit political group delivered a batch of the complaints to Ofcom’s offices in London. They have also been shared on email.
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK stars Divina de Campo and Crystal have backed the campaign, saying GB News and its “normalisation of hate” was a “stain on the UK.”
De Campo said: “The attempt to link loving consensual relationships with abusers is not only disgusting, it’s also statistically false. Straight men are vastly more likely to be abusers than LGBTQ+ people.”
Crystal said the comments amounted to “disgusting hate speech,” which she fears has become normalised.
“As I know from personal experience, the [past] couple of years have seen an emboldening of bigots conflating LGBTQ+ identities and paedophilia,” she continued. “They feel safe enough to spout this bigotry publicly and we need to remind them that this language is not only dangerous but defamatory and carries legal repercussions.”
Jolyon Maugham, a barrister who founded Good Law Project, said: “GB News broadcast one of the most outrageous and dangerous lies that has surrounded LGBTQ+ people for decades and has since doubled down. So, this is a test of whether Ofcom is serious about hate speech.
“This all leaves companies that have advertising deals with GB News, such as Sky Media, with a choice to make. Do they value the LGBTQ+ communities they serve or not?”
Howie apologised but says comment was taken out of context
Howie claimed the clip had been taken out of context, but apologised to “LGB people”, saying he wasn’t referring to them.
‘I didn’t say LGB people ARE pedophiles… I apologise to anyone who thought that was what I was saying.’@JoshxHowie addresses online backlash to comments he made about LGBTQ+, on a recent episode of Headliners.
— GB News (@GBNEWS) February 9, 2025
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“The fact is that paedophiles exist in every single group, every single ethnicity, every single occupation, and in all those places they need to be called out. What I’m talking about here, though, is the splitting of the LGB from the Q+.”
The “TQ+” part of the LGBTQ+ acronym, which stands for trans, non-binary, queer, and more, was “not fit for purpose”, he added. “I can see why some people thought I was being homophobic when, in fact, I was being the opposite. LGB must be separated from the Q+.”
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