Mr Gay Scotland has been stripped of his title
By Will Stroude
Mr Gay Scotland has been asked to return his sash after refusing to compete for the title of Mr Gay Europe.
20-year-old Jamie Love, who won the title earlier this year, did not want to spend £1000 oh his own money on travelling to Stockholm for the contest, according to Kaleidoscot. Instead, he attended a separate Pride event in Scotland, leading to him being stripped him of his title by Mr Gay Europe organisers.
Jamie’s manager, Ross Gunning, spoke of his “shock” at the decision, saying: “I would have thought if they wanted Jamie to come they would pay for it.”
He continued: “Mr Gay Europe weren’t giving Jamie any promotion on their social media, they weren’t promoting us. He was asked to do West Lothian Pride event, and he thought, ‘I’d rather do that’.”
Jamie said of the controversy: “I was asked to support young LGBTI people in Scotland at a voluntary event called West Lothian Pride this weekend, when Mr Gay Europe is taking place. I expected Mr Gay Europe to support me in attending this.
“When I told them that I would not be attending the competition they basically said, ‘cool, give back your sash’.”
However, organisers of Mr Gay Europe have denied that you can claim to be Mr Gay Scotland without competing in the European competition.
Stuart Hatton, Managing Director for Mr Gay Europe, said in a statement: “Jamie’s title of Mr Gay Scotland was tied in to him representing his country in the competition.
“Jamie did not win the title of Mr Gay Scotland 2016, he applied online alongside other candidates from the UK and he was chosen as the Mr Gay Europe representative for Scotland and was therefore our Scottish delegate.
“If Jamie or indeed anyone else would like to call themselves Mr Gay Scotland, that is up to them, but it cannot be associated with Mr Gay Europe.”
They added: “Contestants were told that they would have to pay for their travel to the competition, but once within the care of Mr Gay Europe all accommodation, food, expenses and travel throughout the competition stay would be paid for by the Mr Gay Europe company.”
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