Great British Bake Off star told he’s ‘offending Sikhs’ by being gay in homophobic letter
Rav Bansal (Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage)
A former Great British Bake Off contestant has received a vile homophobic letter that claims his sexuality causes “offence” to Sikhs.
Rav Bansal – who is himself a Sikh and appeared on the hit show in 2016 – shared an image of the upsetting letter on Twitter.
The letter writer said they “couldn’t have been more disappointed” that Bansal had come out as gay.
Anti-gay letter writer doesn’t want their kids ‘exposed to inappropriate material’ from Great British Bake Off star.
“I feel as though you are promoting a false image of being a person who can follow the religion, yet you promote a perverse lifestyle as if it is something you should be proud of,” they wrote.
“This is something that you should have kept to yourself. Sikhism explicitly says that lustful behaviour is prohibited and the fact that you went public with this concerns me, immensely.”
The letter writer continued: “I have two young children and I don’t want them being exposed to this kind of inappropriate material. You are a public person and have a responsibility to behave in a way that won’t cause offence to people who may have looked up to you.
Your words will only make me louder and stronger.
“I say that because I am deeply offended, as a Sikh myself, that you were so inconsiderate of the implication this would have on the wider community, which is why I was obliged to reach out.
“Very rarely do us Sikhs see ourselves represented on the TV and many of us were so excited to see you excel in such a way. I feel as though you have thrown that of [sic] all away by being gay.”
They conclude the letter by saying they will no longer support Bansal if he continues to “go down this path” and hopes he gets “some clarity” on the issue.
Rav Bansal: ‘This letter cut me a bit deeper.’
Bansal – who came put publicly just last month – shared the letter and said it had upset him more than he wanted it to.
The Great British Bake Off star said: “When I decided to come out publicly I expected to be faced with some negativity.
“For the most part I have been able to ignore it, but this letter cut me a bit deeper. Annoyingly, it upset me more than I should have allowed it to. Religion should never be used to justify hate.”
In a follow-up tweet, Bansal said he hopes the letter writer will one day find clarity on this issue for their children’s sake.
“Your words will only make me louder and stronger,” he continued.
Bansal came out publicly in an interview with Ria Hebden for the BBC in August. In the interview, he said he was “very lucky” to have a supportive family.
“I feel as though I’m in a very privileged position to be able to support and help other people and if I can give back in any way that would be a huge honour for me.”
