Australian swim champion and Olympic gold medalist Ian Thorpe has spoken about the homophobia he’s faced since coming out as gay in 2014.
“It’s weird, because you have to think about; ‘Do we hold hands or not?'” the 34-year-old, who has 22 World Records, told the ABC’s Anh’s Brush With Fame this evening.
“And we should be holding hands. But, you know, there is still homophobia out there.”
Watch: It’s time Australia legalised marriage equality. (Post continues.)
Thorpe spoke about the last time he experienced blatant homophobia.
“I pecked my boyfriend in the back of a car and I was told to show some respect. [The driver said] ‘That’s disgusting. I don’t want you in my car. You should get out.'”
“I was like, ‘I don’t want to be in your car. Drop me off here’.
“I was rattled. I didn’t realise that in Sydney, in 2016, this can happen. I was shocked.”
He said moments like these, more than anything, show the desperate need for marriage equality.
“I think it’s important to have marriage equality in this country,” he said.
Mia Freedman discusses gay marriage with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Post continues below.
“Because I know what it was like to grow up as a young person thinking you are a second-class citizen, thinking, ‘I don’t have the same rights as what other people do’.”
“I feel as though what I’m doing is wrong. That’s what’s implied when you don’t have the same kind of rights, and human rights, as other people.”
During the show, Thorpe also admitted he initially struggled talking to his family and friends about his sexuality, but after confiding in those closest to him he was ready to announce it on television.
“It was really hard for me to tell my closest friends and family. I mentioned to them, ‘Do you know, I’m thinking of coming out on TV, just so it’s done’. And people were like, ‘Ooh ,maybe you should just get used to it first’. And I was like, ‘No. I will… No, I’m going to do it’.”
He said coming out has allowed him to live his life over again.
“Once you’ve come out, it’s an incredible experience because it’s almost like you get to have your life over again. That’s how it feels. I was finally able to be the person I am.”
Top Comments
If this happened in an Uber it's actually a violation of the riders terms & conditions. Riders are prohibited from engaging in any sexual or flirtatious conduct with each other or the driver. You have to realize that weather you are in taxi or ridesharing vehicle you are interacting with an individual in their place of work & the same legal protections that prohibit a couple, gay or otherwise coming into your office cubicle & kissing also extend to these vehicles. If that's a problem drive yourself or walk. The poor driver has probably had to deal with the messy conclusion of when a peck escalates to full blown fellatio & wanted to nip it in the bud before it started. Remember when you catch an Uber you are often riding in the family car of some low income part time worker. His three year old daughter probably usually sits there where you want to do your business. Just show a bit of human decency & we can all get along.
A greeting or goodbye kiss on the cheek now leads to fellatio in a cab? Really? What sort of novels are you reading to give you that idea?
It was a peck on the cheek. Bit of a jump from that to "full-blown" fellatio! Are you implying all gay people are sex-crazed exhibitionists who can't control their physical impulses? I wonder if said cab driver would be so offended if it was a hetero or lesbian couple putting on the show?
Again your assumptions are quite the tell aren't they. If any person I was driving no matter the gender or orientation started engaging in sexual acts of any caliber I would stop the car immediately and ask them to get out. If they refused I would drive them to the nearest police station & have an officer of the state remove them from my personal property. I care not for a 'show' as you assume, perhaps you do. Why not drive for Uber then. You can net around $11AUD per hour while risking your health, car & personal safety. You might even get the occasional 'show' as you put it & have the pleasure of cleaning it up afterwoods if that's your thing. This no touching policy many drivers have keeps our work environment safe from accusations & disease. The fact you expect service workers to just shut up & cop it is so typical of the most privileged class in human history.
Wow...overreaction much? Ian gave his partner a peck on the cheek - something most of us probably give our mothers and grandmothers. And I wouldn't expect anyone to put up with people - gay, lesbian or straight - getting it on in their work environment.-
When are some people going to accept that we are allowed to have our own opinions and do not need to be lectured on those opinions.
So the driver did not like the sight of a man giving another man a peck on the cheek. So what? The driver is allowed his opinion without copping name calling and lectures and being told what he should think.
Having the right to an opinion doesn't give the right to harass, bully or be blatantly rude to people.
I must have missed the part when the driver was given a lecture. Calling homophobia out for what it is isn't name calling.
That's quite hypocritical - he called it disgusting himself?
What strawman nonsense. He can say and think whatever he wants in his private life. He's working and representing the taxi company and it's not okay to act that way or kick people out for kissing on the cheek.