News | Entertainment
29 Mar 2024 12:20
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Tom Daley feels an obligation to use his platform to fight for LGBTQ+ rights

    The 28-year-old diver is happily married to director Dustin Lance Black, 48, and is determined to bring about change in the Commonwealth, where homosexuality is illegal in 35 of the 54 sovereign states


    Tom is not competing in this year's Commonwealth Games but has instead been working on the BBC documentary 'Illegal to Be Me', after being inspired in his mission at the 2018 Games in Australia.

    He said: "I was competing in the Commonwealth Games, I had just won a gold medal and was sitting having a burger with my husband and my mum. It dawned on me that I don't have to worry about the ramifications of that. I thought about how fortunate I am. Because in over half of the Commonwealth countries that are competing, it is illegal to be queer.

    "That was when I started researching how that can be campaigned against and what can be done in the world of sport to help influence that. Because sport has a real power for change."

    Despite his fame, Tom admitted standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, can be "scary".

    He told Big Issue magazine: "I guess 21 years of diving has got me to a place where I can start to fight for other people. I am not going to lie, it is a really scary thing. But there are certain people that cannot stand up for themselves or do not have the platform to stand up for themselves. Once I realised that what I said had some kind of weight behind it, I felt like it was my obligation and responsibility to use my platform and my voice to lift up the voices of the people who otherwise wouldn't be able to get into the room. I started travelling around the Commonwealth - speaking to athletes and advocates from Pakistan, Jamaica, Nigeria, Tonga, Singapore and asking what they thought the Commonwealth could do better."

    The Olympian praised Lance - with whom he has four-year-old son Robbie - for educating him on LGBTQ+ issues.

    He said: "Lance, my husband, has been a massive influence in terms of teaching me about LGBT history. Lots of people my age and younger are completely ignorant of LGBT history - and if a younger generation starts to get complacent with rights, they will be shipped away again. We're at a pivotal moment. If we get complacent now, we could be going very far backwards - especially when you look at what the United States is doing [on abortion rights]."

    © 2024 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     29 Mar: Eva Mendes says she and Ryan Gosling had a "non-verbal agreement" she'd be a stay-at-home mum
     29 Mar: Rebel Wilson has dec lared she won't be "bullied or threatened" by Sacha Baron Cohen
     29 Mar: Whoopi Goldberg stormed off the stage of 'The View' to tell off an audience member for filming it on his phone
     29 Mar: Machine Gun Kelly is said to be in "good spirits" despite Megan Fox admitting they once called off their engagement
     29 Mar: Inside Islamic State's transformation, from life support to 'slaughtering with gusto'
     29 Mar: Stephen Colbert regrets being one of the famous faces who stoked conspiracy theories about Catherine, Princess of Wales ahead of her cancer treatment announcement
     29 Mar: John Lydon felt as if he lost "half" of himself when his wife died
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Calls for Rugby Australia to back their women's game from Chiefs Manawa fullback Renee Holmes More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Innovative New Zealand apple producing company Rockit is focussing on its international expansion More...



     Today's News

    Living & Travel:
    South Africa bus crash leaves at least 45 dead after vehicle plunges off bridge and catches fire 11:57

    Rugby League:
    Black Ferns fullback Renee Holmes is unlikely to make a code switch to rugby league in the immediate future 11:57

    Entertainment:
    Eva Mendes says she and Ryan Gosling had a "non-verbal agreement" she'd be a stay-at-home mum 11:53

    Law and Order:
    A forensics team is in Auckland's Browns Bay, as investigations continue after one person died, after assaulting someone 11:27

    Entertainment:
    Rebel Wilson has dec lared she won't be "bullied or threatened" by Sacha Baron Cohen 11:23

    Accident and Emergency:
    An eight-year-old child is the sole survivor of a bus crash in South Africa that's killed 45 people 11:07

    Entertainment:
    Whoopi Goldberg stormed off the stage of 'The View' to tell off an audience member for filming it on his phone 10:53

    Cycling:
    Star Belgian cyclist Wout van Aert has had surgery after suffering multiple fractures in a crash which has put his Giro d'Italia entry in doubt 10:47

    Law and Order:
    The tangi of one of the men who died after a mass brawl at a 21st birthday party in Gisborne last weekend will be held today 10:27

    Entertainment:
    Machine Gun Kelly is said to be in "good spirits" despite Megan Fox admitting they once called off their engagement 10:23


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2024 New Zealand City Ltd