Watch: LGBTQ Rights Campaigner Calls Out BBC on Homophobic Slurs

British LGBTQ equality advocate Peter Tatchell has called out the BBC for homophobic slurs that he says were used by the BBC Persian Service.

Tatchell sent a letter to BBC Director General Tim Davie, a release from The Peter Tatchell Foundation says.

The release alleges that "the BBC Persian service has been twice exposed promoting the homophobic views of the Iranian regime," with a recent instance being a Dec. 28, "post calling LGBTs 'faggots,' " that "compared them to opium addicts and people who commit incest and implied that they are an 'abomination.' "

"On another occasion, BBC Persian mockingly referred to 'so-called' LGBT+ Pride and apparently attempted to out an Iranian interviewee," the release adds. "This was broadcast on its TV channel on 6 July 2019. The video is still online, despite protests by LGBT+ Iranians urging it to be removed."

In his letter to Davie, Tatchell demanded a "prompt explanation of the shocking allegations of appalling homophobia on the BBC Persian language service website," and declared that the language at the site "echoes official homophobic views of the Iranian tyranny."

Tatchell noted that on Dec. 28, "BBC Persian published a post describing LGBT+ people as 'hamjensbaz', which I am told is the Persian language equivalent of the word 'faggot.' It took huge protests from LGBT+ Iranians to get this disgusting language removed.

"The post went on to compare LGBT+ people to opium addicts and people who have sex with their siblings," Tatchell continued. "Again, only after protests was this deleted but it was replaced by the equally offensive insult 'ghabahat' – which apparently means abomination."

"It is reprehensible and unacceptable that the BBC promotes hate speech and apologia for a dictatorship," Tatchell's letter added.

Tatchell also decried the report 2019 report on London Pride, Noting an "outcry among LGBT+ Iranians," the rights campaigner preemptively dismissed any claims of "people not understanding Farsi or the nuances of Iranian culture.

"The fact LGBT+ Iranians are so angry and upset suggests that BBC Persian is guilty of gross repeated homophobia," Tatchell charged.

Tachell requested explanations regarding the BBC Persia's reportage and staffing policies and urged "that you appoint an independent inquiry into the administration, staffing, monitoring and content of the BBC Persian service."

The BBC Persia segment is subtitled and a link was included in the release. Comments left at the YouTube video noted that although an apology had been appended following Tatchell's letter, "the story still sits on BBC Persian online -- without the apology."

Last month Tatchell and the Foundation coordinated with British police around the question of men cruising for sex in parks - an issue that law enforcement wished to address less for the fact that men might be seeking companionship than that they were violating COVID-19 social distancing mandates.

Watch the 2019 BBC Persia segment on London Pride below.