Members of the LGBT community refused to attend a Pride event over the weekend after learning it was to welcome a drag act named Beeyonce to its stage.
Why?
The performer, whose real name is Leanne Harper and who impersonates the singer Beyonce, darkens her skin to do so.
Enraged, those who had planned to party at the event in Durham took to social media to blast its organisers for hiring her.
One of these was the Durham University Labour Club who cited the horrors behind the practice of blackface as their grounds for concern.
After a lot of controversy over Durham Pride’s inaccessibility issues, and their decision to hire a black face performer, with a heavy heart, DULC’s exec has decided that we will not be officially attending Durham Pride this year.
Leanne as Beyonce…
The entertainer uses a skin darkener to achieve this look and now finds herself blasted, bombarded and berated for doing so.
A 20 year-old man has been arrested for threatening to kill her over the row.
She had this to say about the dramatic episode.
Never in all the years have I had anything like this before. I only put on St Tropez tan like I would for a night out.
I want to look my best, I never thought of it in that way before. It is heartbreaking to think that people think like that.