Sikh Reality TV Celeb Reveals He's Gay, Gets Flooded With Hate Mail For 'Offending' Religion
Rav Bansal, contestant on the current series of The Great British Bake Off had to face racial abuse and homophobic comments after he opened up about his sexuality on reality TV.
Bansal, who ¡°came out¡± recently, took to Twitter to share a letter he had received from a Sikh person.
The letter said: "I recently saw a clip of you on the BBC where you opened about being gay and Sikh, and I couldn't have been more disappointed in hearing this news. 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."
"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 31-year-old wrote on Twitter: ¡®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," Bansal said in response to the letter.
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 ???? pic.twitter.com/oWnRCWG8TS
¡ª Rav Bansal (@RavSBansal) September 26, 2019
The 28-year-old Sikh, who has made it through to the third week on the popular BBC programme has been the receiving end some extremely hurtful and condescending remarks just because of his sexuality.
Here's how people came out in Bansal's support after a flood of hate comments:
#1
Not at all sure how saying you are gay is "lustful" behavior, while saying you are straight is not.
¡ª David Birney (@DavidBirney) September 26, 2019
#2
Be the very best you, and don't worry about the people who try to speak for God. God can handle just fine without their bigotry.
¡ª Shivam Bhatt (@elektrotal) September 27, 2019
#3
Love you Rav, have always be proud to be your friend and always will be.
¡ª Thomas Gilliford ?? (@Tom_gilliford) September 26, 2019
You are a role model.
#4
Oh Rav this is so grim and am sorry you had to read this. Sending lots of love xx
¡ª Andrew Smyth (@cakesmyth) September 26, 2019
'
He is not the only baker and contestant to deal with unfair racist abuse. Last year's winner Nadiya Hussain said, for her, racist abuse was so frequent that she grew immune to the insults.
"I don't retaliate. I feel like there's a dignity in silence, and I feel that if I retaliate to negativity with negativity then we've evened out. And I don't need to even that out, because if somebody's being negative I need to be the better person," she told Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in an Interview.
