Liam Payne Is Being DRAGGED For Misinterpreting The Meaning Of Pride

28 June 2018, 12:07

This was not cool...

Pride month may just be coming to an end but there are still plenty more Prides around the world that are yet to take place. London Pride is next weekend and for it a variety of stars have teamed up with Adidas to redesign their Samba trainers as part of their Prouder campaign. David Beckham, Nick Grimshaw, Naomi Campbell, Rita Ora and Liam Payne are just a few of the celebrities taking part.

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Adidas' Prouder campaign is raising money for the Albert Kennedy Trust (a charity dedicated to helping LGBTQ+ youth that are affected by homelessness). It's also supposed to act as a starting point for wider conversations on LGBTQ+ acceptance today. Alongside it, The Evening Standard has asked those involved in the campaign to tell them about what Pride means to them.

So far so normal but Liam Payne is causing controversy with his answer. As opposed to reflecting on the ways in which we can help queer people today, the 'Strip That Down' singer said this: "I think since I’ve had a little boy, everything changes in life. I’m aiming more for him to be prouder of me, and already he’s making me a better man, which I think is incredible."

The comments come off as tone deaf because, instead of using his power as an ally to raise awareness of why Pride is so important, Liam has made the question about him. Unsurprisingly the comments didn't go down well on Twitter.

Some thought that Liam was not equipped to speak on LGBTQ+ issues.

They have a point.

Others were just angered by the whole ordeal.

Everyone involved should have put more care and effort into this.

A little bit of research would have helped.

If you have a platform, it's so important to be educated in the issues you're speaking on.

A few people were unimpressed with the shoes that Liam designed.

It's for charity Chris!

A couple of fans were more forgiving of the One Direction star though.

In fairness to him, he does say in the wider quote that "if we all aimed for a better future, it would be easier." It's pretty vague but it shows that his heart is in the right place.

People also pointed put how major it is that a straight male popstar of Liam's stature is actually part of this campaign.

Just a few years ago, this would have been unthinkable.

Ultimately, it's really great to see Liam involved in this sort of project. It sends out a great message to his fans. Just hopefully in future, he will be a little more educated when it comes to answering LGBTQ+ questions.