As a gay man, i would not have been offended by the comment, i think it was a shrewd comment as to why the song should have to be changed to accomodate a prudish audience.

And one thing i do note is that a lot of people whom i have encounted who are offended by it are themselves straight, which is confusing the situation to say the least, given that i dare say a large proportion of gay/bisexual people would have no problem with that comment.

I know what homophobia is, i had my face rearranged by people who assumed i was gay rather than knowing, so with that in mind lets put this into its proper context and give dannii minogue a break.

It was not homophobic though - Dannii has been a champion of gay rights for many, many years. And certainly not ’shaming’ - Danyl’s not ashamed - why should he be? The thing that worries me is the widespread idea that she maliciously revealed a ’shameful secret’ about him. It’s not shameful. It’s just a basic demographic fact about him, and not a remarkable one. Move on - there’s nothing to see here…

Actually, it’s Danyl himself, rather than Dannii, who has moved things on, by “doing a Will Young” at the start of the competition instead of the end. Dannii’s only mistake was to think the viewing public would share her and Danyl’s view of the world - that it’s OK to talk about these things in public.

As you quite rightly state it is perhaps not so much the comment but Danyls immediate reaction to it that made it offensive. He may well have later twittered and commented all was fine, but his face at the time told a different story. It is how an individual reacts that determines the offensiveness of any comment.

I do get slightly amused when the terms homophobic get used, since the whole point with equality be this racial or sexual equality is that it does not matter what you are. In the case of sexuality, it also means the indivdiual has the choice to disclose what they wish at a time of when they want to. No one has the right to disclose or discuss another sexuality. It is clear that Danyl did have the News of the World article, but like many I do not read that, and so it is a relatively minor exposure when compared to national TV. So I think it is the issue of where it was stated that also makes the comment so wrong.

What one person finds funny others can find offensive, it is important to remember that Danni holds responsibility for the way in which this comment was made, and where it was made. To assume that because one gay or bisexual person finds this acceptable does not mean that is a hard as fast rule that others will.

At first I was taken aback by Dannii’s comments because I did not see what relevance they had to the show and from a judging point of view, however now understand what she was getting at and why she said what she said.

The thing with X-Factor though, is that unlike Pop/American Idol, the contestants need to have the full package:

Likeability, Vocals, Stage Presence, as this is what the X-Factor stands for.

Danyl has a great voice, great stage presence, and for me the likeability factor. The other judges crushed the latter saying he was cocky and arrogant. Dannii made reference to his sexuality instead which may just have brought his likeability factor right up.

Danyl to win.

Col

I am very concerned that the two women judges Danni and Cheryl are making moralistic judgments about the girl singer act Ms. Frank and the one women judge Dani inappropriately brought up one of the male singers Danyl Johnson’ bi-sexuality after he sang a wonderful song from the Dream Girls score. Dani was supposed to comment on his Danyl Johnson’s performance no make a big deal out of what she heard in the newspapers about the man’s bisexuality. What is the big deal? She was shaming him and making him wrong. It was very hetero-sexist and homophobic and has no place in this competition. There is a wide axis of different loving beyond the heterosexual format.

Those moralistic comments were inappropriate and discriminatory - plus it comes off as racist. Who cares who one has slept with or is loving in their lives (consenting adults of course). What does that have to do with their singing? The two women judges are swaying the audience with their moralist and bigoted Puritanical opinions. This is not cool. What a sticky wicket they have started here. They owe them an apology and also they need to stop moralizing to the contestants. Stick to judging what is important, singer and they stage presence etc.

Sincerely,
April
USA