A number of top names, including comedian Joe Lycett, have publicly announced that they are pulling out of this Friday’s British LGBT Awards after it was revealed that both Shell and BP have sponsored the event.
In addition to Lycett, whose decision not to attend was reported yesterday in The Guardian, journalist Shon Faye, drag queen Cheddar Gorgeous and podcaster Josh Rivers have also decided not to take part in the awards.
The decision to boycott the ceremony, which honours queer and LGBT role models and organisations, comes after campaigners including Fossil Free London and politician Zack Polanski said they would be staging a protest because of the fossil fuel sponsorship deals.
There are also concerns of pinkwashing; where businesses use support of LGBT communities to detract from less ethical practices and present themselves in a good light without the risk of facing fines for misleading advertising.
“The event unfortunately has a number of sponsors with questionable track records on climate change, racism and inequality, including BP and Shell. These two in particular have consistently failed to back up rhetoric of low carbon transition with actions to that effect,” said Ru Paul Drag Race UK star Cheddar Gorgeous.
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Writing on Instagram, Shon Faye – who has written extensively on trans issues – said: “I don’t accept my nomination nor would I want anyone to vote for me as long as the awards are sponsored by BP and Shell.”
“One of the greatest political anxieties I have is that I have spent a lot of my working life trying to fight for future generations of queer and trans people to see liberation. That’s all undermined and threatened by the extreme and imminent of climate change and the social impact of climate injustice”.
She also described BP and Shell as “beyond the pale” and said that their actions are “wholly contradictory” to the anti-capitalist work she was nominated for.
Just Stop Oil issued a statement saying: “We in the LGBTQ+ community will not allow the deadliest and most dangerous companies to use our existence to greenwash and rainbow wash their brands. This is a line in the sand for us.”
Earlier this month the British Museum ended its sponsorship deal with BP after a 27-year long partnership; many other arts organisations such as The Tate and National Portrait galleries had already terminated their sponsorship deals.
Campaigners have recently disrupted a string of AGMs – including Shell and BP – calling out their failure to take responsibility over fossil fuel pollution.
The move from Lycett is not the first time he has taken a stand against fossil fuels. In 2021, he performed a stunt outside Shell’s Headquarters in London, as part of the documentary Joe Lycett vs The Oil Giant, which explored the energy company, its marketing and its exploration for new oil reserves.
