Olly Alexander wears rainbow suit in Poland to protest anti-gay laws
Olly Alexander in his dazzling rainbow suit on Polish TV (The Voice of Poland/youtube)
Olly Alexander has taken a stand against Poland’s anti-gay laws by donning a rainbow suit during his performance on The Voice of Poland.
The openly gay Years & Years frontman wore the fabulous outfit after activists asked him to use his platform on the show, which is watched by millions in the country, to make a statement about LGBT+ rights.
Alexander explained on Twitter: “The website queer.pl and a few people online were asking if I would wear a rainbow on Polish TV last weekend.
Olly Alexander and the full glory of his pro-LGBT rainbow garb (The Voice of Poland/youtube)
“Wearing rainbow colours is just a small statement but I’m very thankful to have been asked to do so.”
— Olly Alexander
“Poland’s government has become increasingly anti-LGBT and same-sex couples are not allowed to be shown on the TV station,” he added, referring to comments made last year by the director of Polish national television, Jacek Kurski, who said gay couples were banned from dating shows.
“Poland has embraced our band from the very beginning and I know its people to be kind, funny and hugely generous,” continued the 28-year-old “King” singer.
“Wearing rainbow colours is just a small statement but I’m very thankful to have been asked to do so.
“The government’s stance on LGBTQ+ equality does not reflect the pride and love we see at our shows there, nor is it reflected in the people we work with. We had a great weekend, I love Poland and I will do my best to do right by you guys.”
Olly Alexander has long been a voal supporter of LGBT rights (The Voice of Poland/youtube)
Olly Alexander shines light on Poland’s anti-gay Government
Same-sex marriage is still illegal in Poland, despite shifting public support, and the constitution limits marriage to opposite-sex couples.
In August, Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak—a prominent figure in the country’s right-wing populist government—called participants in a Pride march in the western city of Poznan a “parade of sodomites.”
The remarks came after the Minister for Internal Affairs Joachim Brudziński told police to prosecute LGBT+ people, accusing them of “desecrating” the Polish coat of arms by featuring it on a Pride flag during a march in July.
Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak called an LGBT march a “parade of sodomites.” (CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/AFP/Getty)
Just weeks after Blaszczak’s remarks, gay couple James Pickering and Joseph Czarny told PinkNews how they were subjected to an anti-gay attack by two men shouting “faggots” and “gay c***s” on a beach in the northern city of Gdańsk.
Despite the area being packed, they said onlookers stood by and did nothing.
Olly Alexander has long been an LGBT+ advocate
The British musician has a history of supporting the queer community.
In July, he defended the rights of trans women to be included in women-only spaces, saying: “I do believe that trans women are women, so I sort of get confused where those two issues, how they are supposedly meant to conflict with each other.
Olly Alexander has previously said that “trans women are women and they need safe spaces too” (The Voice of Poland/youtube)
“Because I think trans women are women and they need safe spaces too.”
Alexander has also said he would be open to being in a thruple—which is a couple, but with three people—and condemned toxic masculinity.
He called the culture of masculinity “oppressive,” adding that straight culture was “a prison unto itself.”
