Take That's Howard Donald scrapped from Nottingham Pride after liking homophobic tweets

17 June 2023, 21:19 | Updated: 18 June 2023, 10:37

Take That star Howard Donald has been dropped as an act from Nottingham Pride after liking a string of homophobic and transphobic.

The singer, 55, liked a series of offensive tweets on his Twitter account which were picked up by LGBT+ outlet Pink News which prompted the Groovebox Nottingham Pride Festival to act.

In a statement on social media, Groovebox Festival said: "In light of recent events, Howard Donald will no longer be playing at our Nottingham Pride Festival on Saturday 29 July at Binks Yard.

"We would like to offer our thanks to the public for alerting us to the situation this morning and also appreciate your patience while we spoke to the relevant parties."

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In an Instagram story on Saturday, Donald wrote: "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.

"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."

Take That, now a trio following the departure of Robbie Williams and Jason Orange, have been working on an album in recent months.

They are set to headline the British Summer Time festival and have just released a cinematic adaptation of Greatest Days - the hit musical about Take That.

Donald, who was also a judge on German reality talent show Got To Dance, was separately going to perform in Nottingham next month.