Take That star Howard Donald has been dropped as one of the headline acts at Groovebox’s Pride Festival after it came to light he’d liked a number of tweets that were critical of trans people.
Donald had been due to perform at the Nottingham event on Saturday 29 July, which also features acts including Horse Meat Disco, Essel, Sam Sax and a drag cabaret from stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK – but he will now be replaced by another act.
Social media users had earlier questioned Donald’s inclusion in the Pride line-up, highlighting some of his previous Twitter likes, including one calling for Disney to be “defunded” after holding a Pride event, and another criticising an inclusive menstruation campaign with the message: “Only women have periods! Men cannot menstruate. Transgender ‘women’ cannot menstruate.”
Other likes from Donald’s account included a tweet from controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate, claiming “the only superhero a boy should have is his father” and another listing “realities” including “there are only two genders,” “Covid was a scam,” and “obesity isn’t beautiful or healthy”.
His other likes included conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11, criticism of Bill Gates and his charitable work and false theories around Covid vaccinations.
Image: Take That performing at Windsor Castle for the Coronation Concert in May
Image: Take That in 1993. (L – R) Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Robbie Williams and Jason Orange
Confirming his removal from the event, Groovebox’s Pride Festival posted a statement on their official Instagram page, saying: “In light of recent events, Howard Donald will no longer be playing at our Nottingham Pride Festival on Saturday 29th July at Binks Yard.
“We would like to offer our thanks to the public for alerting us to the situation this morning and also appreciate your patience whilst we spoke to the relevant parties.
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“We are working on confirming a replacement headliner alongside Horse Meat Disco, Tayce, Danny Beard & ESSEL for Nottingham Pride and will make an announcement in due course.”
Donald has since deleted his Twitter account, and posted an apology on his Instagram story.
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He wrote: “I have made a huge error in my judgement liking social media posts that are derogatory towards the LGBTQIA+ community and for that I am deeply sorry and I know I have let everyone down.
“I am really disappointed in myself and I am sorry for any hurt that I have caused by my uneducated actions I clearly have a lot to learn and it’s a priority for me that I do this.”
Image: Howard Donald’s apology on Instagram. Pic: @Howarddonald
Earlier on Saturday, the official Nottinghamshire Pride organisers had tweeted to clarify that they were not part of the Groovebox event, which is not affiliated with the city’s main Notts Pride.
They tweeted: “It has been brought to our attention that there has been some anti LGBTQ+ endorsement from a performer at the Groovebox Pride Festival which has not been organised by Notts Pride.
“We are really concerned about this and we reject Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia in our City.”
Donald, 55, rose to fame in the early nineties as one-fifth of boyband Take That, alongside Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams, Jason Orange, and Mark Owen.
While Williams and Orange have since left the group, Donald is one of the remaining three members, with the band headlining the King’s coronation concert in May.
Sky News has contacted Howard Donald and Groovebox for further comment.
Unreleased Beyonce music – along with footage and show plans – has been stolen from a car in Atlanta, police say.
The vehicle had been rented by the star’s choreographer and a dancer last week.
But on 8 July – just before she was about to begin a four days of performances in the city – the SUV’s back window was smashed, and two suitcases were taken.
Two MacBook laptops, Apple headphones and luxury clothes are also missing – alongside the five thumb drives containing the songs.
An arrest warrant has been issued for a suspect, but their identity has been withheld.
“Light prints” have been detected at the scene, and the robbery was captured on CCTV.
MasterChef presenter John Torode says an allegation he used “racial language” was upheld in a report as part of a review into the behaviour of his former co-presenter Gregg Wallace.
There were also two standalone allegations made against other people.
In a statement posted on his Instagram page, Torode said he was one of those people, but added that he had “no recollection of the incident” and said he “did not believe that it happened”.
He commented: “Following publication of the executive summary of the investigation into Gregg Wallace while working on MasterChef, I am aware of speculation that I am one of the two other individuals against whom an allegation has been upheld.
“For the sake of transparency, I confirm that I am the individual who is alleged to have used racial language on one occasion.
“The allegation is that I did so sometime in 2018 or 2019, in a social situation, and that the person I was speaking with did not believe that it was intended in a malicious way and that I apologised immediately afterwards.
“I have absolutely no recollection of any of this, and I do not believe that it happened.
“However, I want to be clear that I’ve always had the view that any racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment. I’m shocked and saddened by the allegation as I would never wish to cause anyone any offence.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
An investigation into Gregg Wallace’s “inappropriate behaviour” on MasterChef has found that more than half of the allegations against him have been substantiated, including one of “unwanted physical contact”.
MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK shared a summary of its report into historical allegations of misconduct against the 60-year-old presenter, carried out by independent law firm Lewis Silkin over seven months.
The report also said the number of sustained allegations made Wallace’s return to MasterChef “untenable”.
The investigation heard evidence from 78 witnesses, including 41 complainants.
There were 83 allegations against Wallace, and 45 of them were substantiated. All were related to MasterChef.
While the majority of the substantiated allegations related to inappropriate sexual language and humour, a smaller number of allegations of other inappropriate language and being in a state of undress were also substantiated.
One allegation of unwanted physical contact was substantiated.
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Nearly all the allegations against Wallace were related to behaviour which is said to have occurred between 2005 and 2018, with just one substantiated allegation taking place post-2018.
Additionally, the report summary found that there were also 10 standalone allegations about other people between 2012 and 2018/2019, two of which were substantiated. Those people were not named in the summary.
The investigation found that complaints had previously been raised with the production company between 2005 and 2024.
Image: Gregg Wallace on MasterChef. Pic: BBC/ Shine TV 2024
While the report flagged inadequate reporting procedures prior to 2016, when Endemol merged with Shine ahead of Banijay acquiring Endemol Shine in 2020, it said there were significant improvements to HR processes and training after 2016.
While the investigation said some formal action was taken by the BBC in 2017, it also noted the corporation held no information regarding concerns raised over Wallace centrally, resulting in issues being addressed as a first offence.
Sky News has tried to contact Gregg Wallace for contact today.