Take That vocalist Howard Donald was spotted grinning before the band’s latest performance as fans put up posters declaring their love for him after he was recently dropped from a Pride festival lineup.
The 55-year-old was withdrawn from the lineup for Groovebox’s Pride Festival in Nottingham earlier this month after it was shown in screenshots that he ‘liked’ transphobic messages.
‘In light of recent events, Howard Donald will no longer be appearing at our Nottingham Pride Festival on Saturday 29th July at Binks Yard,’ the festival announced on social media, before Donald offered an apology.
‘I have made a huge error in my judgement (by) liking social media posts that are derogatory towards the LGBTQIA+ community and for that, I am deeply sorry and I know I have let everyone down,’ he said at the time.
‘I am really disappointed in myself and I am sorry for any hurt that I have caused by my uneducated actions.
‘I clearly have a lot to learn and it’s a priority for me that I do this.’
The publication Pink News took screenshots of the singer’s Twitter activity with the aforementioned likes of tweets, before his profile disappeared from the site completely.
Take That played at KOKO in Camden on Wednesday evening in support of conflict Child, an NGO that helps children impacted by conflict.
A few people watching the livestream of the performance appeared to post clips from it on Twitter, showing fans in the crowd holding up signs that read: ‘Howard We ❤︎ You.’
Howard appeared to notice the banners, smiling as his bandmate Gary Barlow performed solo.
Thank you so much to those who have made these banners for Howard 🫶🏻 These banners are speaking for lot of us #thattersloveyouhoward
His reaction to them was priceless and he deserves it 😭✨ pic.twitter.com/F95uH1JqNi
— Celebration Of Take That (@CelebrationofTT) June 21, 2023
Donald apparently liked posts on Twitter before his account was deactivated, including one that claimed trans persons might regret transitioning later in life.
Another featured a quote from anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen Minshull, which read: ‘No woman has a penis. No man has a vagina. Non-binary is nonsense. And transitioning children is profound abuse.’
While his Twitter account is still inaccessible, he is nonetheless active on Instagram.
However, the comments on his most recent Instagram post, which he uploaded five days ago urging people to see the film Greatest Days, which incorporates Take That songs, are disabled.
