Dua Lipa declares it’s her ‘duty’ to help fight for LGBTQ freedom as she leads the Attitude December issue

Dua Lipa has already given the gays so much in the shimmying shape of her perfect pop bops – but she is determined to use her platform to fight for the rights of her LGBTQ fans.

As Britain’s biggest pop star graces the cover of the Attitude December issue, available to download and to order globally now, the ‘Hallucinate’ singer insists it is her “duty” to speak up and raise awareness as an ally.

“I have a massive group of friends and [members of] my team who are part of the LGBTQ community, who have inspired me so much and taught me so much – they’re all my role models in life,” she explains.

Dua Lipa talks sexism in the music industry and fighting for LGBTQ freedom in the Attitude December issue, out now (Photography: Jonas Bresnan)

“It’s entirely a right to be able to love who you want, not just because I have friends in the LGBTQ community, but because we’re all human and we deserve it. It’s something I feel very connected to and will continue to fight for.”

Dua, 25, released her chart-topping album Future Nostalgia at the beginning of lockdown; a flickering light during a dark time for many LGBTQ people, unable to seek out their usual safe spaces, trapped, perhaps, in dangerous environments – the numbers seeking suicide-prevention support rose significantly during this period.

Dua wears top by No.21, necklace by MOUNSER, rings by Hotlips by Solange, cuff earring by Tom Wood (Photography: Jonas Bresnan)

“It really breaks my heart. It’s hard to put into words how that makes me feel, somebody not being able to continue with their life because of what’s going on around them. That makes it difficult to digest. I can only imagine what that must feel like.”

The ‘Levitating’ singer continues: “To be able to use my platform to spread awareness, show support, talk about it, to make people feel seen, heard and safe, [to] communicate with charities and try to do my part as much as I can… I see that as my duty.”

From speaking out after fans waving rainbow flags were forcibly removed from her show in Shanghai in 2018, to headlining Mardi Gras in Sydney in February, Dua has earned her stripes as a gay icon – but she’s still getting used to the honour.

“It’s really hard to refer to myself as that,” Dua says, modestly. “But I’m trying to channel that energy…

Dua wears top and skirt both by No.21, necklace by MOUNSER, rings by Hot Lips by Solange, cuff earring by Tom Wood (Photography: Jonas Bresnan)

“I’m [just] grateful to have such an incredible community filled with so much love, so much enthusiasm, so much creativity – you know how you go, ‘sugar and spice makes everything nice?’ That’s what the gay community has.”

Elsewhere in the Attitude December issue, comedian Tom Allen serves up a special edition second cover as he prepares to host the 2020 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards, powered by Jaguar on 1 December.

Tom Allen (Photography: Joseph Sinclair)

Inside, the award-winning stand-up comic and host of The Apprentice: You’re Fired! reveals how he learned to embrace his eccentricities and queerness as a young gay kid growing up in south London, and why he feels more comfortable than ever in his late thirties.

Plus, Hollywood legends Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci reflect on playing a gay couple who face an uncertain future in Harry Macqueen’s moving new big screen drama Supernova.

Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci in ‘Supernova’

Fresh from topping the charts with their fourth studio album Cherry Blossom, The Vamps open up about entering a new era of their music career, personal struggles and the nuances of sexuality.

 

The Vamps (Photography: Markus Bidaux)

As Nicola Adams makes history on the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor as part of the show’s first-ever same-sex pairing, the double Olympic gold medallist shares some valuable life lessons with Attitude.

Nicola Adams

Former The Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen reveals what’s in store for viewers as he makes his directorial debut in Falling, which charts the journey of a gay man caring for his ailing – and highly homophobic – father.

Viggo Mortensen

 

Acclaimed author Brandon Taylor reveals how he sought to break free from Black literary stereotypes in literature in his Booker Prize-nominated tome, Real Life.

Brandon Taylor (Photography: Bill Adams)

As the Marvel Universe celebrates its first same-sex superhero wedding, we explore how queers in comics have been coming out (slowly) for decades.

In Active, former Union J star Josh Cuthbert opens up about turning to modelling after music success, and how he’s learnt to balance his mental health with the physical.

Josh Cuthbert (Photography David Reiss)

Performer, fitness instructor and life model Kage Douglas reveals what it’s like to bare all in the name of art.

Kade Douglas (Photography: Francisco Gomez de Villaboa)

As we approach the 20th anniversary of the equal age of consent in the UK, we look back at the long campaigning road that led to this milestone of LGBTQ history.

Illustration: Gary Simons

Ahead of a new London retrospective exhibition, photographer Sunil Gupta reflects on a fascinating, decades-long career which saw him transplanted from the bustling streets of India to the bewildering quietness of all-white Canadian suburbia.

‘Untitled #22, 1976’ From the Sunil Gupta series ‘Christopher Street’

And in this month’s fashion pages, we escape to the country to sample the best styles for Autumn/Winter ’20.

AJ wears coat, jeans and boots by Moschino (Photography: Joseph Sinclair)

Plus, each and every print edition of the Attitude December issue comes with a free Attitude 2021 calendar, in association with Taimi, inside – so you can start making up for those plans we’ve all missed out on this year.

That’s alongside all your usual news, reviews and opinion, of course…

The Attitude December issue is available to download and to order globally now.

Subscribe in print and get your first three issues for just £3, or digitally for just £1.54 per issue.