Tom Daley says ‘it’s scary how LGBT rights are being dangerously threatened’

Published

2 months ago

May 30, 2025

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Even as someone who has grown up in the public eye, Tom Daley has vulnerabilities and concerns to finally reveal.

The five-time Olympic medallist has an even greater perspective as the British diver who first competed at the Games aged 14 in 2008, who is now retired and a father of two.

Having grown up in the public eye when social media was still in its infancy, Daley is deeply troubled by the toxicity online, especially for someone with an opinion.

And the 31-year-old has spoken out from a young age – from LGBTQ+ rights to bullying and mental health – but he is ready to go further now.

“There’s lots of things I think we’ll look back on this last five, 10 years of human history as being quite shocking in a way,” Daley said in an interview with Sky News.

“When social media came to prevalence – and cancel culture and people not being allowed to make any mistakes or be able to share too many opinions – it can be very scary and intimidating for certain groups of people.

“I think it definitely pits lots of people against each other and I think we always have to remember that we’re all in this together at the end of the day.

“And there’s so many more important things – being able to come together as one human race and I know that sounds very like hippie-dippie.

“But it really is as simple as that, about just being kind to each other.

“Where has that kindness and compassion gone because everybody feels like they have something to say about very small groups of people.”

A front row seat to LA 2028

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion revealed he was gay in 2013 and went on to marry Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.

They now live as a family in Los Angeles – the city hosting the 2028 Olympics.

Having retired from diving after a final silver medal at Paris 2024, Daley will have a front row seat to the Games taking place in an America where Donald Trump has seemed to roll back LGBTQ+ protections early in his second presidential term.

“It is scary in some parts of the world how the rights of LGBT people are kind of being reversed or they’re being dangerously threatened,” Daley said when asked about Trump.

“It’s something again where minorities have to come together for the greater good because it is scary.

“And you may see someone else’s rights going away and I think it’s important that everybody, especially minorities, come together because it won’t just be one group that gets targeted.

“Once one group has been targeted, it will move on to the next, and the next, and the next.

“I think the most important thing is staying visible. I think lots of people ask, ‘What can you do to be an activist? What can you do to an advocate?’

“I think it’s being truly and authentically yourself. As long as you’re happy, your friends and family are happy, and you’re not hurting anyone else, then I think just being visible is a great form of activism.”

Trump election victory was a ‘shock’

“For lots of people living in the West Coast bubble, it was like a bit of a shock when Trump won the election in November,” Daley said.

“But I think it’s also given everybody a wake-up call. I just always believe in leading with kindness, care and compassion and trying to make life worth living for every single person.”

Daley knows what it is like to feel targeted for abuse.

In a new documentary featuring family video growing up, Tom Daley 1.6 Seconds, there is a sense of disbelief that he gave interviews as a child talking about being bullied in school after his Olympic debut at Beijing 2008.

“I never really saw it back then as something that was strange because it’s something that I had lived and grown up and just was part of how my life existed,” he said.

“But, looking back on it, I kind of was like, ‘Oh my gosh, imagine if it could have all been so different’.”

London 2012 poster boy

During the build-up to London 2012, Daley was the poster boy of the home Olympics.

But he was dealing with bulimia and body dysmorphia in private. It’s still difficult to talk about, knowing people would comment on how he seemed in great shape.

“But that’s not what an eating disorder is,” he said. “An eating disorder is not being able to think about your body, what you eat, what you put into your body rationally.

“And I think that’s something that people don’t necessarily understand with eating disorders, which is why going through that, I went through it alone.

“Because I was embarrassed to be thinking about those things. I didn’t think anybody would believe me.”

To this day, Daley feels people online are dismissive of his concerns. In interviews, he grates when it is pointed out that in retirement he is not fat.

“I’m constantly reminded of that,” he said. “So it’s definitely something that triggered the way that I think about my relationship with food.”

This is not to take away from how fondly Daley looks back on a career that saw him reach the pinnacle with Olympic gold in 2021 at the pandemic-delayed Olympics.

There is no sign of coming out of retirement again as he did in Paris last year.

“I feel incredibly proud of what I’ve been able to achieve in terms of my perseverance and resilience through lots of different things,” he said. “I do miss being on that diving board.

“It is like there is no other feeling than being on top of a diving board in a competition where you’re putting all of the work that you put in into that 1.6 seconds and I think I will forever miss that.”

UK

Lionesses praised after winning Women’s Euros – with bus parade confirmed this week

Published

14 hours ago

July 27, 2025

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Lionesses praised after winning Women's Euros - with bus parade confirmed this week

England fans across the country have heaped praise on the team after winning Euro 2025, with a bus parade celebration set for Tuesday.

Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses took home their second Euros trophy in consecutive tournaments after beating Spain 3-1 on penalties in the final.

Chloe Kelly scored the winning spot-kick following two huge saves from goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, after Alessia Russo scored an equaliser to send the game to a shootout.

As it happened: England beat Spain on penalties to retain title

After England win, it was announced that an open-top bus parade will be held in London on Tuesday along The Mall, which will start at 12.10pm.

The celebrations will culminate in a stage ceremony at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace at approximately 12.30pm

Fans can attend for free, and Sky News will broadcast it live.

‘You’ve made the nation proud’ – Starmer

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was among the millions congratulating the Lionesses, posting on social media to praise the champions

“What a team. What a game. What drama,” he said.

“You dug deep when it mattered most and you’ve made the nation proud. History makers.”

The roof almost came off the Manchester clubhouse where Ella Toone started her journey

Greg Milam

Chief North of England correspondent

@GregMilamSky

Nowhere was the roar for the Lionesses louder than in the Astley and Tyldesley Miners Welfare club on the outskirts of Manchester.

The club where a five-year-old Ella Toone started her journey to England stardom, like so many places across the country, hosted nail-biting, table-thumping and, ultimately, deafening watch parties.

The roof almost came off the clubhouse when Chloe Kelly’s winning penalty went in.

Red bucket hats emblazoned with Toone’s now-famous ‘Buzzing My Head Off’ catchphrase were thrown in the air.

“Absolutely ecstatic,” said Lorraine Warwick-Ellis, who runs the pathway development for women and girls at the club.

“I was very nervous, very worried about penalties but we did it in the end.”

The success of the Lionesses has driven a huge boom in the popularity of women’s and girls football in recent years. She hopes this win will have a similar effect.

“I hope it cements the girls who are already here, keeps them engaged, and I hope it brings more girls down who want to be footballers and see that it’s open for everybody.”

It had been a pretty sombre watch for much of the game after Spain took the lead – but it erupted into life after Alessia Russo’s equaliser.

The shootout was the usual emotional rollercoaster but young fans seem to have greater faith in the Lionesses.

Among the jubilant teenagers celebrating in the clubhouse were two who have followed Toone’s path to academies at professional clubs.

“It’s unbelievable, they’re amazing, Chloe Kelly, I just don’t know what to say about her,” said Natasha Greenhouse. “We knew if it went to penalties that they’d do it.”

Tamsin Gallagher said: “They’ve done it the hard way all the way through the Euros but we all believed in them. Come on England.”

The party in Manchester and around the country and only just begun.

Prince William and Princess Charlotte, who were in attendance at St Jakob-Park in Basel, added on social media: “What a game!

“Lionesses, you are the champions of Europe and we couldn’t be prouder of the whole team. Enjoy this moment England.”

King hails Lionesses… and calls for World Cup

In a post on the official Royal Family account on X, King Charles also sent his “most heartfelt congratulations on winning the Euros 2025” to the Lionesses.

“For more years than I care to remember, England fans have sung that famous chant ‘football’s coming home’,” he said.

“As you return home with the trophy you won at Wembley three years ago, it is a source of great pride that, through sporting skill and awesome teamwork, the Lionesses have made those words ring true.

“For this, you have my whole family’s warmest appreciation and admiration. More than that, though, you have shown through your example over past weeks that there are no setbacks so tough that defeat cannot be transformed into victory, even as the final whistle looms.”

The monarch ended his statement by saying “the next task is to bring home the World Cup in 2027 if you possibly can!”

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy added: “What an absolutely extraordinary achievement by our Lionesses – once again they have made history and united the country with pride and joy.”

Reform UK’s Nigel Farage said “well done” to the team and “what an absolutely fantastic watch,” while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “What an achievement. What a team!”

UK

Man suffers cardiac arrest onboard boat trying to reach UK

Published

1 day ago

July 27, 2025

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Man suffers cardiac arrest onboard boat trying to reach UK

A man has died after suffering cardiac arrest onboard a boat attempting to reach the UK.

The vessel turned back towards Equihen beach on the French coast yesterday morning.

A nurse tried to resuscitate the man but was unsuccessful.

French authorities have now launched an investigation into the circumstances.

A spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, has criticised authorities on both sides of the Channel.

Jacob Burns said: “Yet again we have a tragedy in the Channel, that is the consequence of the deadly, costly and ineffective security policies implemented by the UK and France.”

Later on Saturday, a lifeboat carried migrants who have made the voyage into the Port of Dover.

Photographs showed them huddled under blankets and orange life jackets on board.

Provisional statistics from the Home Office suggest almost 24,000 people have arrived on small boats in the UK so far this year.

Towns and cities across the UK have seen protests in recent days, primarily outside hotels believed to be housing asylum seekers.

UK

Women’s Euros final: The Lionesses face Spain tonight – and they’re seeking revenge

Published

1 day ago

July 27, 2025

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Women's Euros final: The Lionesses face Spain tonight - and they're seeking revenge

Here the Lionesses are again. Another final. Another showdown with Spain.

All of a sudden, what was once so anticipated and longed for can start to seem expected rather than extraordinary.

What happened to the great underachievers of world football? They are now consistently among the final two going for glory.

No one is taking that for granted.

Especially not Leah Williamson, with the chance to retain the European Championship trophy lifted three years ago at Wembley.

“The opportunity of tomorrow and what’s on offer is the best thing in football,” the England captain said. “I think we don’t necessarily carry the weight of it and how much it means to people, but we’re aware of it because it means the same to us.”

So often they were only watching other nations making finals.

England’s first was the men winning the 1966 World Cup.

England v Spain: All you need to know

Then, with the rebirth of women’s football after bans and neglect, it was the Lionesses’ turn to make it to the finals – in 1984 and 2009.

And the Three Lions had to wait until 2021 to make it to a final, losing to Italy on penalties at Wembley.

It kickstarted an incredible run of five successive years of finals for England senior teams – with another men’s Euros final defeat in 2024.

The Lionesses have led the way, bringing football home by defeating Germany in the Euro 2022 final at Wembley.

They just missed out on going one better when reaching a first Women’s World Cup final a year later.

Now, in Basel, comes the chance for revenge against Spain – even though no one in the England camp is saying that, publicly at least, in Switzerland.

Especially knowing how challenging a task it is coming up again against Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putella – the recent winners of football’s biggest individual honours.

But this is Spain’s first Euros final.

And there is some fear from the world champions at England’s grit and resolve to produce comebacks late in the quarter-finals and semi-finals – with 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang’s goals integral to the fightbacks.

Spain captain Irene Paredes reflected yesterday on how the Lionesses can flip a result late on.

But she was also discussing how their World Cup win was tarnished by the on-pitch kiss that led to former Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales being convicted of a sexual assault on striker Jenni Hermoso.

It sparked a wider clamour in Spain for improved rights and respect for women.

“Since then [2023] we took big steps forward,” Paredes said.

“I think this idea is disappearing from society. I still believe we have to continue opening doors… we’re a reference for boys and girls in society, but we still have things to do.”

It is a reminder that while tonight is about collecting silverware, both England and Spain know that emerging as champions can drive further growth in women’s football back home.

Amid it all, they’ll try to savour just what reaching a final means and how rare they are – until recently for English and Spanish women.