Anna Wintour slams ‘backward’ stance of Australia’s PM Scott Morrison
The Vogue Editor-in-Chief also called for the Margaret Court Arena to be renamed
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Anna Wintour has slammed the ‘backward’ stance of Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Last year, Morrison revealed that the government will be reassessing anti-discrimination legislation to protect the rights of LGBT students and ban religious schools from expelling LGBT students over their sexuality.
He originally promised to remove discrimination exemptions for LGBT students in schools by the end of 2018 but now, after backtracking on his promise, it means the issue cannot be addressed until late 2019.
And now, the Vogue Editor-in-Chief – who was the keynote speaker at the business lunch hosted by the Australian Open – voiced alarm over the PM’s anti-LGBT+ stance.
According to The Age, Wintour said: “I have been alarmed by your prime minister’s record on LGBTQ rights, which seems backward in all senses.
“That no one can be expelled from school for their orientation should not require clarification.
“A government should protect its people, not make it unclear whether they will be accepted.”
Wintour also joined the call to remain the Margaret Court Arena following the tennis great’s outspoken condemnation of same-sex marriage.
The arena is named after the tennis legend who won a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles but back in 2017, the 76 year old said the devil was to blame for young people questioning their sexuality and urged Australians to vote against same-sex marriage.
Following her comments, there has been a call for the Margaret Court Arena to be renamed and has been backed by former world number one Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova.
During the business lunch, Wintour said the arena should be a ‘meeting point of players of all nations, preferences and backgrounds’ and said it ‘should celebrate somebody who was a champion off the court as well’.
She continued: “I find that it is inconsistent with the sport for Margaret Court’s name to be on a stadium that does so much to bring all people together across their differences.
“This much I think is clear to anyone who understands the spirit and the joy of the game. Intolerance has no place in tennis.”