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Archives for 2015

Same-sex Strictly still suffering backlash

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Stuart Hatton Jr talks dancing

After the professional dancer James Jordan spoke publicly about his dislike for same-sex couples on the hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing there was an influx of responses on Twitter from fans and dancers alike.
Dancer, championship adjudicator and current Mr Gay UK Stuart Hatton Jr gave us his thoughts on James’ comments:
When you think of ballroom dancing, you think of sparkles, you think of glitter balls and you think of Blackpool but ultimately you think of a man twirling his partner around on the open dance floor; however, there is a new wave of Quicksteppers waltzing alongside Fred and Ginger in the shape of Fred and Ted and Ginger and Jean.
There are many who welcome this new addition to the ballroom floor of seeing two men tango the night away and two women foxtrot under the glitter ball, however there still seems to be a lot of individuals who do not want this style of Ballroom dancing to appear on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.
I for one do not understand this backlash against same sex dancing couples, who only just want to dance; they are not starting wars, they are not breaking the law and all they are doing is dancing with passion from the heart.
On Monday 22 June, I sat in horror and I watched James Jordan on This Morning, discuss his feelings on Same Sex Dancing Couples with Philip Scofield and Amanda Holden. I used to have the utmost respect for Mr Jordan as a fellow professional ballroom teacher and as an artiste. However, his rant live on TV against Same Sex Ballroom Dancers appearing on Strictly has left me completely upset and disappointed.
Mr Jordan said that same sex couples “would be “a joke” and that “people wouldn’t take it seriously. It would have to be comedy value, two men dancing a sexy rumba together, I don’t think it would work”. He then continued, “Ballroom and Latin dancing is about a man dancing with a woman… Ballroom and Latin dancing is 10 dances, you have 5 Ballroom and 5 Latin… I don’t believe that Ballroom and Latin dancing is about two men dancing with each other or possibly two women… on Strictly, let’s keep it traditional. Why do we have to change something to tick another box? Oh, there we go! We’ll tick that box as well! We have same sex couples dancing, fantastic! There are a lot of people in this country who would probably agree with me, that they don’t particularly want to watch Strictly and see same sex couples”

Well, where to start? I see that using the, “I’m not homophobic but…” disclaimer doesn’t make your thoughts any less outdated and by semantically inserting the word “traditional” does not make you sound any less anti-gay that you did indeed sound. If you think about it, I believe it is tradition for the Samba to be danced in the streets and carnivals of Brazil, but yet, here we are in 2015 and we’re dancing the Samba live on UK TV and in London no less; surely that’s breaking with tradition isn’t it? Things change, times move forward. This in 2015 for goodness sake! The United Kingdom proudly passed Same Sex Marriage in 2014 and here we are in 2015 listening to James Jordan ramble on about whether or not tradition allows a same sex couple to dance on TV? Let us not forget that many women go to tea dances and dance together socially, possibly because their male partners do not wish to participate, possibly because there is a shortage of male partners or maybe they have sadly lost their partners.
Same sex dancing does not just belong within the LGBTI community. It’s been going on for years. In hundreds of dance schools around the world, women have always danced with women and girls have always danced with girls due to a shortage of boys taking up Ballroom dancing. In fact, I am sure if you look at the statistics around the UK, you will see that over 70% of all ballroom dancing partnerships are made up of two women. How very dare they break the rules of tradition, well the rules of ‘tradition’ according to James Jordan. Shame on them!

Furthermore, Mr Jordan went on to say, “Ballroom and Latin dancing is about a man dancing with a woman, the way the dress moves, the feminity, the masculinty…” Hang on a a minute, as a championship adjudicator, I myself along with many of my professional peers have never once judged the validity of a dance partnership based on ‘the way the dress moves.’ When judging dancers, I take in to account technique, poise, deportment, footwork, shaping, silhouette, standard, quality, charisma, performance and togetherness and so do the majority of other dance judges; I would never mark a couple first place on the dance floor because the lady dancer was wearing a bonny frock.
On the flip side, it has been nice to read all the positive online support regarding same sex Strictly over the past few days and even Amanda Holden cut James Jordan off at the end of the interview with her thoughts, “Personally, I would love to see same sex couples [on Strictly]”. If you want to get involved then The Pink Jukebox in London have been offering dance classes for same sex partners for over 30 years. Strictly Come Dancing star, Robin Windsor offers his own same sex workshops around the country and I myself run my own same sex ballroom dancing classes at my dance studios in the North of England.
Furthermore, it is not just the dance professionals who are in support of the same sex dancers, Freed of London, one of the world’s leading companies in dance shoes will be showing support by picturing an all-male couple from now on throughout all their advertising, a shoot which I was proud to be a part of You can check out the behind the scenes video here.

Equality and diversity are very much moving forward in the UK but it’s individuals like James Jordan who voice their outdated views using the semantic shield of ‘tradition’ that will constantly leave the LGBTI community afraid that acceptance is still not, well, ‘accepted’ even on the ballroom dance floor. Just think of the many people he is influencing not only in the dancing world, but the wider general public; This gentleman has the ability to influence change for the better and yet he preaches (what many have called on social media) ‘homophobia’ hidden behind the excuse of ‘tradition’.
I hope that when same sex dancers appear on Strictly Come Dancing, because this will happen, James Jordan will maybe change his views and see the positive impact that this will have not only on the dancing world but also within the LGBTI community and really, if you think about it two women dancing together is the ‘traditional’ norm for the majority of all dance schools around the UK, so let’s get this tradition on the BBC. Until his views change, my respect for James Jordan is at an all-time low, which is a sad thing too because he is and always has been a bloody good dancer.
Image Dylan Rosser
WordsSuart Hatton Jr @hattondancer

AirBnB have made a stunning video for Pride

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Airbnb have released a truly excellent video for Pride telling the stories of LGBT couples and what it’s like for them when traveling.
We hear from people who have journeyed for years across the world and those who are just starting out in their relationships. From the couple who always had to keep their relationship a secret to the parents who fear the situation where they might have to “deny being a family, or pretend like you’re a mother and an aunt.”

“Travel breaks down barriers, people see you and you’re no longer a mystery”

“My greater hope would be that beyond just being tolerated by a society we would actually being accepted.”
This video is a brilliant addition to pride and finishes with the hope that one day, all love is welcome in the world.

Words Josh Withey, @josh_withey

Conversion Therapy Is Fraud, N.J. Court Rules

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BY SUNNIVIE BRYDUM
JUNE 25 2015 3:18 PM ET

Ex-Gay Therapy

Telling gay people they can be turned straight is fraud under New Jersey law, a jury determined. The Jewish group must now pay $72,400 in damages to its former clients.

Benjamin Unger and Chaim Levin, two of the plaintiffs in the suit

Benjamin Unger and Chaim Levin, two of the plaintiffs in the suit

After just three hours of deliberation, a New Jersey jury has delivered a unanimous verdict that a Jewish group peddling so-called conversion therapy violated the state’s consumer fraud protection laws in claiming it could “cure” clients of being LGBT.

The verdict concludes that New Jersey–based nonprofit Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing, or JONAH, violated the state’s Consumer Fraud Protection Act by marketing “conversion therapy” that has been denounced by every major medical and mental health organization in the country, notes the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The Jewish group has been ordered to pay $72,400 to the plaintiffs, which represents three times the cost of JONAH’s “therapy,” in addition to the cost of subsequent legitimate therapy one plaintiff sought to overcome the damage done by JONAH’s efforts.

The lawsuit was filed by the SPLC on behalf of three young men and two mothers subjected to the discredited therapy that tries to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It was filed in 2012, before New Jersey became the second U.S. state to ban the unscientific practice when used by licensed therapists on minors. Republican Gov. Chris Christie signed the ban on ex-gay therapy into law in August 2013.

“This verdict is a monumental moment in the movement to ensure the rights and acceptance of LGBT people in America,” said a statement from David Dinielli, deputy legal director for the SPLC and lead attorney in the case. “Conversion therapy and homophobia are based on the same central lie — that gay people are broken and need to be fixed. Conversion therapists, including the defendants in this case, sell fake cures that don’t work and can seriously harm the unsuspecting people who fall into this trap.”

Testimony in the trial, which was presided over by Hudson Superior Court Judge Peter D. Barsio, Jr., demonstrated that JONAH counselors used abusive, discredited tactics to shame and defraud their clients, according to SPLC:

“According to testimony at the trial, the defendants’ counselors or their associates instructed young men to undress and stand naked in a circle with them; encouraged clients to undress in front of a mirror and touch their genitals while a counselor was present in a closed-door session; and organized group activities for clients to reenact past abuse and take part in violent role-play exercises. Male counselors also engaged and advocated ‘healthy touch’ with young men, including cuddling sessions lasting nearly an hour.”

In addition to the $72,400 in damages paid to the plaintiffs, JONAH has been ordered to pay “reasonable attorney’s fees”  incurred by the plaintiffs, SPLC reports. The judge has yet to rule on SPLC’s additional requests that JONAH’s business license be cancelled, or that the group pay additional financial penalties.

Plaintiff Chaim Levin, 26, whose mother, Bella, was also a plaintiff, said he was relieved by today’s verdict in a statement from SPLC:

“Seven years ago, I was subjected to abusive, harmful practices by JONAH that I thought would remain secret and unnoticed despite how destructive they were — in part because they thrived on this secrecy in their so-called therapy practice. Now the world knows about their destructive, refuted practices. I took part in this lawsuit to take a stand. I don’t want another person to endure the anguish and harm JONAH put my loved ones and me through.”

Benjamin Unger, a 27-year-old plaintiff who now lives in Brooklyn, added:

“I am so grateful that the jury has decided conversion therapy organizations do not have the right to lie to and deceive people. It is a victory not just for me but for other victims of this harmful therapy.”

The first-of-its-kind case has been closely watched by advocates hoping to end the practice of conversion therapy in the U.S. In February, Hudson Superior Court Judge Peter D. Barsio Jr., ruled that JONAH could not legally present homosexuality as a “disorder” but did not determine whether JONAH had actually made that claim to its clients.

That February ruling from Barsio determined that JONAH would be in violation of the Consumer Fraud Act if it offered specific success statistics for its services when “client outcomes are not tracked and no records of client outcomes are maintained” because “there is no factual basis for calculating such statistics.” SPLC lawyers said they are confident that evidence at the trial, set for June 1, will show that JONAH has indeed engaged in such misrepresentation.

Barsio had previously ruled that several proponents of “ex-gay” therapy will not be allowed to testify as expert witnesses at the trial. They included Joseph Nicolosi, a psychologist who founded the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, as well as other prominent voices in the movement, such as Christopher Doyle, James Phelan, and John Diggs. The judge held that their opinions are based on the false premise that homosexuality is a disorder, writing that “the theory that homosexuality is a disorder is not novel but — like the notion that the earth is flat and the sun revolves around it — instead is outdated and refuted.”

Today’s ruling affirms that JONAH did defraud its clients by telling them not only that homosexuality was wrong, but that it could be cured, despite overwhelming scientific evidence that shows such attempts at “reparative therapy” are ineffective and harmful to those subjected to it. The practice has already been condemned by the White House and top Obama administration officials, and is currently illegal to employ on minors in California, New Jersey,Washington, D.C., and Oregon.

“This jury has affirmed what victims of conversion therapy heartbreakingly already know — charlatans’ attempts to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity amount to nothing more than fraud,” said Human Rights Campaign legal director Sarah Warbelow in a statement. “Today’s decision is an extremely important legal victory in our march towards fairness, equality, and justice for LGBT people.”

Tom Daley ‘still thinks twice’ before discussing his sexuality 18 months after coming out as gay

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The Independent The Independent

>HEATHER SAUL Author Biography

The Olympic diver said talking about having a boyfriend still feels ‘weird’


 
Tom Daley has admitted he still “thinks twice” before discussing his sexuality more than a year after he came out as gay.
The Olympic diver’s revelation in a YouTube video that he was dating a man in July 2013 sparked a media frenzy, with Daley suddenly propelled to the front pages of tabloids across the UK.
Subsequent news that his partner was Dustin Lance Black – the US script writer behind the Oscar-winning Harvey Milk biopicMilk – only served to intensify the furore surrounding his sexuality.
Daley said he still hesitates before talking about being gay eighteen months after coming out, telling Newsbeat it still feels “weird” .
“As the months have gone on I’ve felt more and more comfortable saying it and give me another year and I’ll probably feel at my most comfortable but it’s still weird,” he said.
Daley, who is now an ambassador for the LGBT helpline Switchboard, is preparing to compete in the Olympic Games in Rio next year. The 21 year-old said he has not experienced homophobia, despite many stories of discrimination emerging from various sports.
“I don’t think there should be any reason for there to be any discrimination or homophobia or anything like that in sport because sport is the one place where you’re judged on performance and nothing else,” he added.
“More and more, especially in diving, that’s the only sport I really have experience in, there’s no homophobia whatsoever.”
 

Channel 4 and Russian Olympics Video

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Back in February Channel 4  released a music video called Gay Mountain in support of gay olympians heading to Russia, as well as turning their brand rainbow.
Gay Mountain - Channel 4

Gay Mountain – Channel 4

Channel 4 have been a long time supporter of equal rights and diversity so with all the current homophobia being presented in Russia currently  at the moment, and with its role as host to the Winter Olympics it seems an opportunity not to miss to send a message of love and support. The music video Gay Mountain was featured on Friday 7th February, but you can watch the full video now here

Channel 4 Born Risky

Channel 4 Born Risky

The Campest Video You Will See In 2015

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By The Gay UK, Jun 26 2015 04:33PM
Bravo bravo bravo, music collective Dildorado has managed to out gay the gayest with their PRIDE themed song: UNITED FRUIT.
(C) Dildorado

(C) Dildorado
With over 300lbs of bananas, United Fruit is the campest music video we’ve seen since Boy Is A Bottom – and that was pretty camp. I mean there’s even a god dam keychange.
Dildorado is a Swedish musical collective with Sailor boy, Captain, Horny & Misty in the crew.
Dildorado (C) YouTube

Dildorado (C) YouTube
Don’t pretend you’ve not done this before!
Their song, United Fruit is a tribute to Stonewall, speaking about the tribute the band said,
“Millions of LGBT-people know that modern Pride-festivals wouldn’t exist without the brave heroes of 1969. But many young people simply haven’t got a clue. Together with Stockholm Pride, we hope to fill the information gap with some ”serious fun”. United fruit has been selected the Community Song of the festival held later this summer and will be performed both live and on giant video screens.”

Supreme Court rules gay marriage law of the land

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In a historic ruling, the Supreme Court extended gay marriage rights to couples in all 50 states.

By Cristina Maza | Christian Science Monitor – 17 hours ago

Same sex marriage is now legal in every state in the United States after a historic Supreme Court ruling declared that the right to marriage equality is enshrined under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

In what marriage equality advocates have called the most important civil rights case in a generation, 5 out of 9 court justices ruled in favor of same-sex marriage. This means the remaining 14 states that did not recognize same-sex marriage, most of which are in the South and Midwest, will no longer be able to enforce bans on the marriages of gay couples.
The results of this historic case, known as Obergefell v. Hodges after an Ohio man who sued the state to get his name listed on his late husband’s death certificate, mark a long-sought victory for LGBT rights activists who have campaigned for decades in favor of marriage equality.
“No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves,” Justice Anthony Kennedy said in his closing opinion.
“Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed.”
Each of the four opposing justices issued separate dissenting opinions. “This court is not a legislature. Whether same-sex marriage is a good idea should be of no concern to us,” wrote Cheif Justice John Roberts.
“If you are among the many Americans — of whatever sexual orientation — who favor expanding same-sex marriage, by all means celebrate today’s decision,” Roberts said, reading his opinion from the bench. “But do not celebrate the Constitution. It had nothing to do with it.”
The Obama administration supports same-sex marriage, and many high-profile politicians such asPresident Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton took to their Twitter accounts to celebrate the Supreme Court’s decision.
Today is a big step in our march toward equality. Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry, just like anyone else. #LoveWins— President Obama (@POTUS) June 26, 2015
Proud to celebrate a historic victory for marriage equality—& the courage & determination of LGBT Americans who made it possible. -H— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 26, 2015
The ruling will not take effect immediately because the court gives the losing side around 3 weeks to ask for the decision to be reconsidered.

According to UCLA’s Williams Institute, which tracks the demographics of gay and lesbian Americans, there are an estimated 390,000 married same-sex couples in the United States.  Another 70,000 couples living in states that do not currently permit them to get married are expected to hear to the alter over the the next three years, the institute says.  Roughly 1 million same-sex couples, married and unmarried, live together in the United States.

Northern Ireland gay marriage ban faces judicial review

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Henry McDonald Ireland correspondent
Friday 26 June 2015 12.39 BST Last modified on Saturday 27 June 2015 00.01 BST

Grainne Close and Shannon Sickles

Grainne Close and Shannon Sickles became the first gay couple in the UK to enter a civil partnership at Belfast city hall in 2005. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images


First couples in UK to enter civil partnerships delighted with result of legal battle, saying religious views should not affect public policy
The first two couples to become civil partners in the UK have won the right to have the same-sex marriage ban in Northern Ireland subjected to judicial review.
A Belfast high court judge ruled on Friday that Grainne Close and Shannon Sickles, and Charles and Henry Flanagan-Kane, should be granted the review, which is set for the autumn.
Both couples’ civil partnership ceremonies were held at Belfast city hall, just a short distance from the high court, 10 years ago.
The review is likely to be held in November, alongside several other legal challenges taken by gay couples in the region, and who are backed by the Rainbow Project, an LGBT rights organisation.
Neither couple was in court for Friday’s ruling but their barrister and senior counsel representing the Northern Ireland regional government were present to hear Mr Justice Treacy say that he had read the case papers and had already satisfied himself that the matter should proceed to judicial review. “The applicant has an arguable case,” he said.
Members of the Rainbow Project and Amnesty International were also in court. Others supporting the legal challenge included the former CEO of the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast Dawn Purvis and the actor Nuala McKeever.
Outside court, solicitor Mark O’Connor issued a statement on behalf of both couples: “We are delighted that we have been able to get over the first hurdle in relation to the judicial process and that the judge today has granted leave for us to bring this judicial review.
“We are thankful that the judge has made that decision today. We believe that religious policy and religious views shouldn’t be affecting public policy. Thankfully today the judge appears to have accepted that there is an arguable case to answer … and hopefully we will have success in the future in relation to this matter.”
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Prior to the hearing Grainne Close had said: “This is not a religious issue, it is a human rights issue. That is why we are going to court.”
Close said she and her US partner had been inspired by Ireland’s overwhelming vote in favour of gay marriage last month and the joyous scenes that greeted the result of the referendum at Dublin castle.
The Rainbow Project’s director, John O’Doherty, welcomed Treacy’s ruling. “We are pleased that this case is progressing and that it will likely be heard alongside our client’s case challenging the failure of the Northern Ireland government to recognise their lawful marriage.
“The current illogical patchwork of marriage laws created by the Westminster government is placing LGBT people in Northern Ireland at an inexcusable disadvantage and we hope that the courts will agree and find that there must be a harmonisation of marriage laws across the UK.”
A Sinn Féin motion on marriage equality was defeated in April, with 47 Northern Ireland assembly members voting in support, but 49 unionists against. Even if there had been a small majority in favour, the Democratic Unionist party would have exercised a special veto drawn up under devolution.
The petition of concern rule allows any party to veto legislation if it can argue the law would not have sufficient cross-community or Protestant/Catholic support.
Earlier this month, 20,000 trade unionists staged a rally in Belfast city centre to support gay marriage in Northern Ireland, the only part of the UK where LGBT couples cannot be married.
Amnesty International said the ban has turned Northern Ireland into a “discriminatory backwater for the gay and lesbian community”.

Being arrested: your rights

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Being arrested: your rights

  1. When you’re arrested

  2. How long you can be held in custody

  3. Giving fingerprints, photographs and samples

  1. Legal advice at the police station

  2. Complaining about your treatment by the police

  3. When you’re arrested

If you’re arrested, you’ll usually be taken to a police station, held in custody in a cell and then questioned.
After you’ve been taken to a police station, you may be released or charged with a crime.
Your rights in custody
The custody officer at the police station must explain your rights. You have the right to:

  • get free legal advice
  • tell someone where you are
  • have medical help if you’re feeling ill
  • see the rules the police must follow (‘Codes of Practice’)
  • see a written notice telling you about your rights, eg regular breaks for food and to use the toilet (you can ask for a notice in your language) or an interpreter to explain the notice

1.   You’ll be searched and your possessions will be kept by the police custody officer while you’re in the cell.
Young people under 18 and vulnerable adults
The police must try to contact your parent, guardian or carer if you’re under 18 or a vulnerable adult.
They must also find an ‘appropriate adult’ to come to the station to help you and be present during questioning and searching. An appropriate adult can be:

  • your parent, guardian or carer
  • a social worker
  • another family member or friend aged 18 or over
  • a volunteer aged 18 or over

The National Appropriate Adult Network provides appropriate adult services in England and Wales.
Your rights when being questioned
The police may question you about the crime you’re suspected of – this will be recorded. You don’t have to answer the questions but there could be consequences if you don’t. The police must explain this to you by reading you the police caution:
“You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”

  1. How long you can be held in custody

The police can hold you for up to 24 hours before they have to charge you with a crime or release you.
They can apply to hold you for up to 36 or 96 hours if you’re suspected of a serious crime, eg murder.
You can be held without charge for up to 14 days If you’re arrested under the Terrorism Act.
When you can be released on bail
The police can release you on police bail if there’s not enough evidence to charge you. You don’t have to pay to be released on police bail, but you’ll have to return to the station for further questioning when asked.
You can be released on conditional bail if the police charge you and think that you may:

  • commit another offence
  • fail to turn up at court
  • intimidate other witnesses
  • obstruct the course of justice

This means your freedom will be restricted in some way, eg they can impose a curfew on you if your offence was committed at night

  1. Giving fingerprints, photographs and samples

The police have the right to take photographs of you. They can also take fingerprints and a DNA sample (eg from a mouth swab or head hair root) from you as well as swab the skin surface of your hands and arms. They don’t need your permission to do this.
The police need both your permission and the authority of a senior police officer to take samples like blood or urine, or to take dental impressions.
This doesn’t apply when they take a blood or urine sample in connection with drink or drug driving.
Information from fingerprints and samples is stored in a police database.
You can find out if your information is stored on the police database bygetting a copy of your police records from your local police station.
You have to write to your local police (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or local police (Scotland) to have your personal information removed from the police database.
They’ll only do this if an offence no longer exists or if anything in the police process (eg how you were arrested or detained) was unlawful.

  1. Legal advice at the police station

Your right to free legal advice
You have the right to free legal advice (legal aid) if you’re questioned at a police station. You can change your mind later if you turn it down.
How you can get free legal advice
You must be told about your right to free legal advice after you’re arrested and before you’re questioned at a police station. You can:

  • ask for the police station’s ‘duty solicitor’ – they’re available 24 hours a day and independent of the police
  • tell the police you would like legal advice – the police will contact the Defence Solicitor Call Centre (DSCC)
  • ask the police to contact a solicitor, eg your own one

You may be offered legal advice over the phone instead of a duty solicitor if you’ve committed a less serious offence, eg being disorderly. The advice is free and independent of the police.
Being questioned without legal advice
Once you’ve asked for legal advice, the police can’t question you until you’ve got it – with some exceptions.
The police can make you wait for legal advice in serious cases, but only if a senior officer agrees.
The longest you can be made to wait before getting legal advice is 36 hours after arriving at the police station (or 48 hours for suspected terrorism).
You have the right to free legal advice if you are questioned by the police.

  1. Complaining about your treatment by the police

Contact the police force you want to complain about if you’re unhappy about how the police have treated you.
Police forces must refer certain types of complaints to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC.)
 
https://www.gov.uk/arrested-your-rights
 
 

Britain’s Got Totally starkers: Winners strip naked for racy gay magazine shoot

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BRITAIN’S Got Talent winners Collabro discuss their body hang-ups as they bare all for Attitude magazine.

WARNING ADULT IMAGES

By Adam Mohamed /
The five singers shot to fame when they emerged triumphant on the ITV talent show in 2014 and were immediately signed by Simon Cowell’s Syco label.Since then, Michael Auger, Richard Hadfield, Jamie Lambert, Matthew Pagan and Thomas J Redgrave have had two hit albums and are touring the world.
But stripping to their birthday suits for an outrageous shoot has got to be their boldest move yet.
The pop-opera superstars have stripped off and let it all hang out for the cameras.
“We’re five normal young lads. We all go to the gym but we’re not obsessed with having a beautiful body. We just try to stay healthy,” said Jamie.
Clearly none of the lads are ashamed of their bodies, but despite being chart-topping pop stars with thousand of adoring fans, some of the boys reveal that they have suffered from serious body image issues.
Collabro naked photo shoot LOVES HIMSELF: Collabro naked photo shoot [ATTITUDE]
Richard said: “When I was at school I was teased about being heavy and I have to admit it did upset me.“Then I realised I had a body built for rugby so did that.
“When my rugby career was over, I lost a lot of weight dropping from 18st to 15st.
“Then in Collabro I put the weight back on and when we did the Royal Variety performance people said, ‘Oh he’s gotten fatter since BGT’.
“I made a conscious effort to get healthy again.
“Not for vain reasons, if you’re on stage every night, you just don’t want to eat crap, otherwise you’ll end up getting run down.
“If you are confident in yourself, and you accept what you were born with, then that makes you sexy.”
Collabro naked photo shootFROM FAT TO FIT: Richard from Collabro opens up [ATTITUDE]
The raunchy shoot is for the first national British gay magazine Attitude, and openly gay band member Jamie reveals that he didn’t even feel confident enough in his own body to start dating when he started university.He said: “I have to admit I had body dysmorphia when I was at uni.
“I was big as a teenager and I would look in the mirror and not see what was looking back at me. I felt very alone and was very self-conscious and my self-esteem collapsed.
“All I would eat was lettuce and runner beans. I ate just enough to live off but it wasn’t healthy.
Collabro naked photo shootCOMFORTABLE: The boys are clearly at ease with eachother’s bodys [ATTITUDE]
“At one point I weighed 10st which — bearing in mind I’m over 6 foot — is tiny. I can’t pinpoint why it happened, but I was never happy with the way I looked and I suffered from anxiety.”It was only when I changed universities that things seemed to get better. My diet improved and my self-esteem got better.
“I joined lots of LGBT societies and began to meet more gay people and even felt comfortable enough in myself to start a relationship.”
The group’s debut album Stars hit the top spot and the follow-up, Act Two hit No.2.
Collabro have been shot for the Attitude Awards issue available to download now and in shops on Wednesday, June 24