UK

Darren Grimes, a gay man, wants ‘homophobes’ to ‘come out of the closet’ and join his new website. Yes, he actually said this

Darren Grimes, a gay British political commentator, launched a safe space-type group for, he billed, castaways called "homophobic" and "racist". (Screen capture via Twitter)

Darren Grimes, a gay British political commentator, launched a safe space-type group for, he billed, castaways called “homophobic” and “racist”. (Screen capture via Twitter)

Darren Grimes, the notorious gay Brexiteer and right-wing pundit, has a simple message for people labelled homophobic, transphobic or racist on account of their narrow-minded beliefs.

“Come out of the closet”, Grimes said — and join his grassroots campaign, Reasoned UK.

“Do you hide your political views for fear of being called homophobic, a TERF, racist?” he asked, calling on those who do to join the “online media platform”.

Delivering his diatribe from the comfort of a grey gaming chair, Grimes offered a rallying cry for conservatives to “fight the culture war”.

He called them the “silent majority”. Yes, the same silent majority which rallies against trans and other minority rights in national newspaper columns and regularly chats on major broadcasters booming their views to millions.

And the one which is overwhelmingly represented in parliament, by lawmakers whose power windfall is already imperilling the most vulnerable and marginalised people in the country.

How they have been muted for so, so long.

Have you been called a transphobe for your anti-trans views? Join Reasoned UK.

Grimes painted a buoyant image of Britain as a nation where citizens can be “whatever you want”.

He explained how those labelled racist, sexist, homophobic and transphobic live in fear of “violence”, and supplied wholesale examples of the views of the people Reasons UK hopes to house within its digital safe space.

He welcomed with open arms those who “believe biological sex is not a spectrum, and that there are only two sexes in humans” – those who must, as a result of said beliefs, contend with being called “transphobes”.

There was no mention of how trans people suffer from bloated and dizzyingly higher rates of suicide, persecution and violence due to such views.

But, you know, at least they’re not called an icky word like TERF. Just a horrendous array of slurs which are, at times, the final things they hear before they’re killed by transphobes.

Continuing his missive, Grimes appealed to those who oppose higher taxation — usually spent on things such as social welfare programmes — and are called “greedy pigs” as a result. He also reached out to those labelled “sexist” for believing that the gender pay gap “doesn’t tell us anything”.

According to Grimes, not being able to express such views equates to not being able to be “proud of your country, proud of […] common sense”.

“The majority of the public agrees with you but are too afraid to say so,” he said, launching what can only be described as a manifesto for the Fiat 500 majority.

“It’s time to come out of the closet,” he said. “The political one.

“Each person that steps forward and comes out as a conservative, that brings us one step closer to changing the culture.” Quite.

Darren Grimes and his Reason UK group grilled by LGBT+ advocates. 

Grimes’ wonky announcement of Reasons UK became a lightning rod for intense criticism and mockery from LGBT+ activists.

Grimes was the founder of BeLeave, a pro-Brexit youth group that collided with scandal in 2017.

In 2018 the Electoral Commission fined Grimes £20,000 and Vote Leave (the official Leave campaign) £61,000, saying the latter had funnelled £675,315 through BeLeave to skirt a spending limit of £7 million.

Grimes, who denied any wrongdoing, won an appeal against his fine, with a judge ruling the Commission had set too high a threshold for determining whether BeLeave was a genuine organisation for the purposes of electoral law.

Vote Leave paid its fine but has denied any wrongdoing. On May 8, 2020, the Met announced it had closed an investigation into the incident after considering advice from the Crown Prosecution Service.

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