US Vogue editor Anna Wintour has used her speech at the Australian Open to highlight Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s record on LGBTI rights.
Wintour said the way in which Scott Morrison initially reacted to the proposal that gay, lesbian and transgender students could be expelled from schools over their sexuality and gender showed his thinking was “backwards”.
“I have been alarmed by your prime minister’s record on LGBTQ rights, which seems backward in all senses,” Wintour said.
“That no one can be expelled from school for their orientation, should not require clarification. A government should protect its people, not make it unclear whether they will be accepted.”
Wintour also added her voice to the growing number of high profile celebrities and sporting heroes calling for Margaret Court’s name to removed from Melbourne’s area.
“I find that it is inconsistent with the sport for Margaret Court’s name to be on a stadium that does so much to bring all people together across their differences,” Wintour told the crowd at the Australian Open’s Inspirational Series event this morning.
“This much I think is clear to anyone who understands the spirit and the joy of the game. Intolerance has no place in tennis.” Wintour said.
The publishing heavy-weight said while Margaret Court was a champion on the court, people who get buildings named after them should also be champions off the court.
Margaret Court, who is one of the world’s greatest ever tennis players, founded the evangelical Victory Life Church after her retirement from the game.
Over the decades she has consistently spoken out against marriage equality, rainbow families, and LGBTI rights. Reverend Court has stated her belief that most people who are same-sex attracted or gender diverse have experienced trauma, including sexual abuse, which has been the cause of their sexuality or gender dysphoria.
Last year tennis champion Billie Jean King, who is a lesbian, called for Tennis Australia to remove Court’s name from the Melbourne Arena.
OIP Staff
