Charity claims homophobia behind carnival entry refusal

A charity has claimed it was prevented from entering a carnival float in a parade due to "minor homophobia".

North Somerset LGBT+ Forum applied to enter a cart named Fifty Shades of Gay (a celebration of Pride) in Burnham-on-Sea Carnival on Monday.

But organisers told the group the title was inappropriate for family audiences.

Burnham-on-Sea Carnival has yet to respond to BBC News but reportedly told other media the group was not banned but the entry breached carnival rules.

"Let's just hope it's a case of minor homophobia and nothing too sinister," said Paul Stoodley, a spokesman for North Somerset LGBT+ Forum.

"Hopefully this can be resolved. We just want everyone to be happy and everyone to be included," he added.

The North Somerset LGBT+ forum used the cart in Bridgwater Carnival on 5 November and has also been given permission to use it in upcoming carnivals in Weston-super-Mare and Glastonbury.

But the organisers in Burnham felt differently.

"There was a lot of discussion backwards and forwards. Eventually there was a letter that said the committee had made the decision not to allow the charity to enter," said Mr Stoodley.

"They said they had concerns how the public would react to the entry name.

"I drove it around Bridgwater and the feedback was amazing. We were getting cheers and we were so proud to be the first openly gay entry, as far as we are aware, on the carnival circuit," he added.

Mr Stoodley said they were also told their entry was in breach of several rules in relation to self-promotion and sponsorship.

The group said it had been offered the chance to adjust its entry name from Fifty Shades of Gay but had declined the offer as it did not believe the words to be offensive.

The name is a pun on the erotic romance novel by E.L James Fifty Shades of Grey, which has been translated into 52 languages and was a best seller in many countries.

It was also a reference to the spectrum of sexualities and genders in society and the fact it is 50 years since the the first Pride event in the UK, the group said.

Bridgwater-based Marketeers Carnival Club tweeted its support earlier: "Disappointing to hear that an entry was barred from entering one of the carnivals due to being deemed 'inappropriate'. Carnival is for everyone and all should be welcome."

The carnival committee has reportedly said that issues with the entry related to carnival rules and were not a form of discrimination.

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