Main | Wednesday, February 27, 2013

BRITAIN: Speaker Of House Of Commons Intro's Ben Cohen As "Openly Gay"

In an appearance before ParliOut, a group of gay Parliament staffers, Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow mistakenly introduced rugby star and anti-homophobia activist Ben Cohen as "openly gay."  Cohen took the gaffe in good humor. Via Gay Star News:
In his speech as reported by the Evening Standard, Bercow said: "I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Ben Cohen before but I’m delighted to remedy that serious deficit. For those of you who aren’t aware his background is a rugby international – capped no fewer than 57 times for his country – and he is openly gay and had dedicated himself to fighting for gay rights." As the applause laughed, Cohen interjected by saying "Don’t tell my wife!" "No he’s not openly gay," Bercow awkwardly continued on, adding "I am not in favor of outing people against their will and that was an ignorant outing that I apologize to Ben for. I’m not sure how I’m going to be getting back from this faux pas."

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