Singapore TedX Censors LGBTQ Content in Gay DJ’s Planned Talk

In Singapore, a self-governing city-state of about 5 million people—and where gay sex remains a criminal offense—a popular local radio personality was set to give a TedX Talk at an event held at Singapore Polytechnic last week, when organizers of the event told him that, instead of talking about his identity and experiences as a gay man in Singapore, he should tell stories about interviewing celebrities instead, according to an account by VICE.com. “I didn't prepare a speech for months in advance, on something people really need to hear about, for me to cop out and talk about celebrities,” the 29-year-old Simon told Vice. So Simon backed out of the talk rather than alter his speech—which, according to a Facebook post by the DJ, centered on LGBTQ themes. “They urged me to edit my script and leave out any content in relation to it,” Simon wrote. “I said no.” The speech, according to Simon, would have focused on a single day about one year earlier when he went through a painful romantic breakup—and came out to his parents on the same day. The experience “almost destroyed me,” Simon told the Straits Times newspaper. His speech was intended to discuss how he overcame those personal traumas. In the Facebook post, Simon said that Singapore Polytechnic’s initial changes included the request that he “flip the gender of my ex when mentioning my breakup.” The event organizers also told Simon to omit the story of how he came out to his father.  “To hide my struggles and sacrifices is to be ashamed of them,” Simon wrote. “To honor my story is to be completely vulnerable on that stage.” Simon said that he backed out of the speech rather than cut the material, or talk about a different topic altogether, because he feared setting a precedent for future LGBTQ speakers, who could then be told, “if Joshua cut that out of his speech, so can you.” A spokesperson for Singapore Polytechnic told the Straits Times, "Joshua Simon was advised that certain references to his sexuality might be sensitive, given the diverse profile of the audience.” The event organizers had received Simon’s script and found it “inspirational,” but “assessed that certain parts relating to his sexuality might be inappropriate, for the target audience.” Photo By Joshua Simon Facebook