Pride event drops Howard Donald over Twitter likes

Take That member Howard Donald has apologised for his "huge error" in liking social media posts that he said were "derogatory towards the LGBTQIA+ community".

The singer, 55, has since been dropped from appearing at a Pride festival.

Donald said he was sorry and had "let everyone down" by "my uneducated actions".

The performer had been due to play a solo show at Groovebox's Nottingham Pride Festival event in July.

Groovebox thanked the public for "alerting us to the situation".

According to Pink News, Donald "liked" Tweets that included criticism of a campaign promoting period product inclusivity featuring trans men, and a tweet calling for Disney to be "defunded" for holding a Pride in Concert event in June.

He had also reportedly liked posts by controversial influencer Andrew Tate.

The BBC has been unable to substantiate activity on Mr Donald's Twitter account which has been deleted.

In an Instagram story on Saturday, the singer wrote: "I have made a huge error in my judgement (by) 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."

In a statement on social media, Groovebox Festival said: "In light of recent events, Howard Donald will no longer be playing at our Nottingham Pride Festival on Saturday 29 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 while we spoke to the relevant parties."

The statement added organisers were working on finding a replacement act.

Take That are due to headline the British Summer Time festival in Hyde Park, London, on 1 July.

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