Gay BBC Reporter Shares Abuse He Receives
Ben Hunte, the BBC’s LGBTIQ correspondent shared some of the homophobic messages he’s received after his personal phone number was leaked.
Hunte who is openly gay and shares photos of him and boyfriend said he has received hundreds of homophobic and racist messages in the last week and is being contacted directly via WhatsApp.
On 14 August, Hunte tweeted a screenshot of some of the messages saying “It’s 2019… Things should be better!”
The anonymous messenger apologises for disturbing Hunte and assures him they’re not here “to judge you, criticise you or make you feel bad”, before repeatedly questioning him on his sexuality.
“I just want us to ‘talk’,” the person writes. “Can you briefly tell me about yourself, why you thought a man was fit for your sexual life?
“Really? Why do you choose to be gay?”
The string of homophobic messages ends with the questioner saying: “Let’s get this settled.”
Ben Hunte has previously spoken about the level of homophobia he experiences as a gay black man in the public eye. Telling a panel at Student Pride: “In all honesty I have never received so much abuse in my life.
“The difficulty with that was I knew it was going to be bad, but I didn’t know it was going to be that bad.
Hunte recently attended Pride with his boyfriend.
