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Singapore University Rescinds Speaking Invitation To Popular DJ After Learning He’s Gay

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Singapore Polytechnic University cancelled a TEDx talk by the popular DJ Joshua Simon, when they learned he was gay and was going to talk about growing up LGBT in Singapore.

Yahoo News reported:

Joshua Simon said on Facebook that he planned to talk about coming out to his father at the event, which took place on Saturday, as thousands took part in Singapore’s annual gay pride rally and called for gay sex to be legalised.

“Joshua Simon was advised that certain references to his sexuality might be sensitive, given the diverse profile of the audience,” a spokeswoman for Singapore Polytechnic, which offers pre-university courses, and hosted the event.

“The organising committee had then suggested that Joshua Simon consider reviewing how these mentions are expressed in his script … Unfortunately, he decided not to speak at the event at all,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a statement.

Under a British colonial-era law, a man found to have committed an act of “gross indecency” with another man could be jailed for up to two years, although prosecutions are rare.

Simon reached out to his fans on Facebook, writing in the beautiful post:

I owe you an answer to why I did not give my TED Talk on saturday morning: the night before the event, I received a phone call informing me that Singapore Polytechnic, upon discovering that my talk included LGBTQ+ themes, removed me from the speakers list. They urged me to edit my script and leave out any content in relation to it. I said no.

Many of you know how instrumental TED Talks have been for my growth. I treasured this opportunity and worked very hard for months writing and rehearsing for it. It would be against my principles to flip the gender of my ex when mentioning my breakup and to totally leave out my coming out story to my father – both of which are, and will always be, defining moments of my story. 
To hide my struggles and sacrifices is to be ashamed of them. To honour my story is to be completely vulnerable on that stage. 

I told the school that I will not do the talk. I chose not to censor my script. Doing so would also set a hurtful precedence to the next gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer person offered a chance to speak. I will not allow anyone to say “if Joshua cut that out of his speech, so can you.”

This morning, a representative from the school expressed interest in meeting me to issue a formal apology as they had to abide by the rules of The Ministry Of Education. I appreciate the gesture but right now I just want some time to be with myself. 
I was however, blown away to learn that a fellow speaker, Victoria Cheng, got up and spoke bravely in my defence during her talk, a move that got her into some trouble as well. I also want to recognise the 3 incredible students from Singapore Polytechnic who fought relentlessly for the integrity of my story with their teachers up til the final decision was made. Muhan, Lijun, Sheree – my incredible allies, thank you.

Please know that I am not angry at anyone. I have accepted what has happened. This becomes part of my story now. Our stories matter. The fight to have them told continues.

The 29 year-old Simon said, “We’re Not being heard, we’re not being seen, we’re being scratched out.”

Singapore’s prominent newspaper, The Independent, said of Simon:

Joshua Simon, a radio presenter at Kiss92 FM, had his recent TED Talk cancelled because of the LGBTQ+ themes it contained.

TED Talks are influential videos from expert speakers on education, business, science, tech and creativity, and Simon was set to speak at Singapore Polytechnic. His talk, titled, ‘Searching for Aliens in a Human World’ was to be held last Saturday (June 29).

Simon said that he refused to edit his script or to leave out any content in relation to LGBTQ+ themes.

“It would be against my principles to flip the gender of my ex when mentioning my breakup and to totally leave out my coming out story to my father – both of which are, and will always be, defining moments of my story.”

Referencing Education Minister Ong Ye Kung who said that there is no discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community “at work, housing (and) education” in Singapore, Joshua Simon retorted, “I found (his comments) especially hurtful, because I am a victim of that.”

“I’ve been bullied, I was called bapok (transsexual) a lot when I was a kid, I was beat up, I was even held with my Prefect tie and choked when I was in school. But no one wants to hear that story. No one has allowed me to share that story, and no one’s heard my story. So that’s why it was so hurtful when he said that this does not happen.”

“This TED talk thing is just another example of the officials just refusing to hear our stories,” Simon concluded.

All photos via Simon’s Facebook Page.

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