JAMES Blunt has been accused of homophobia after joking about ‘picking up the soap’ in the showers around fellow public schoolboys including David Cameron and Boris Johnson.
The pop star faced a backlash after posting the comment online alongside a magazine front cover of himself under the words: ‘Does it pay to be to posh’.
The group were pictured sipping champagne and wearing white tie evening dress on the cover of the New Statesman, to go with an article on privilege and success.
Blunt, 40, posted the image on Twitter and then joked: ‘I won’t be picking up the soap when this party moves to the showers.’
Gay rights charity Stonewall condemned the Old Harrovian’s comments. A spokesman said: ‘Although James might have been joking, it’s this sort of language that perpetuates negative stereotypes around gay men and gets deemed as acceptable as it becomes ingrained in society.’
Campaigner Peter Tatchell said: ‘It would be helpful if James could explain what he meant by those words and make it clear he is not homophobic.’
Twitter users were also unimpressed. Lisa Gifford wrote: ‘Just when I thought James Blunt couldn’t be any more repugnant, he manages to put homophobia and a rape joke together.’ It is not the first time Blunt has made similar jokes. In 2001, he told a US chat show host he had spent a lot of time with men at public school and as an army captain, adding: ‘It wasn’t my choice. I dropped the soap and it just happened.’
Blunt, who is married to society beauty Sofia Wellesley, branded Labour’s Chris Bryant a ‘classist gimp’ and a ‘prejudiced wazzock’ earlier this month after the MP said the arts were dominated by public school alumni such as him and Eddie Redmayne. - Daily Mail