A PETITION has been started calling on arts venue The Wharf to rethink allowing outspoken right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins to bring her ‘Batsh*t Bonkers Britain’ tour to the town.
The Barnstaple-born former tabloid columnist’s outspoken views have seen her labelled ‘racist’ and dropped by several tabloids as a columnist.
She was successfully sued by food writer and anti-poverty campaigner Jack Monroe after falsely accusing her in a tweet of vandalising a war memorial. And when she falsely accused a Muslim family of extremism in her Mail Online column, the publisher had to make a £150,000 payout to the family.
She has attracted perhaps the most publicity for comparing African migrants crossing the Mediterranean to ‘cockroaches’ , prompting no lesser organisation than the UN to condemn her for inciting racial hatred.
All this has only apparently fuelled her popularity on the stand up circuit, with her latest tour already sold out in a number of venues.
The tour includes a date at The Wharf, Tavistock on May 2 , much to the disgust of several readers who have contacted the Tavistock Times Gazette.
Tavistock resident Janet Burgis has started a petition, which currently has with 39 signatures calling on The Wharf to think again.
“I believe that in the current political climate it is beyond irresponsible for a community event space to offer a platform to populist far right misinformation, xenophobia, racism and misogyny. Katie Hopkins embodies all of the above, she trades in ‘common sense’ hatred and division,” she stated.
“I would ask that The Wharf issue a statement regarding the choice to offer a platform to Katie Hopkins at this sensitive moment in world history. If, as a community space, The Wharf is making a conscious choice to condone and promulgate the views of the far right, misinformation and hatred, I will know to boycott your premises and events.
“I would ask that you, The Wharf, Tavistock make a principled and responsible decision to withdraw from hosting this event and in this signal to your wider community that you offer an inclusive and safe space – a space where hatred, even when dressed up as ‘free speech’, ‘comedy’ or ‘opinion’, is not tolerated.”
One of the petition signatories Richard Smith , who goes to events at The Wharf, said: “The Wharf is an excellent venue but loses money and relies on volunteers and community support to continue. I feel hosting a populist such as Hopkins, who once compared refugees to cockroaches, is likely to lose some of its regular visitors and make its financial future even more difficult.”
The petition can be found at https://www.change.org/notohatiehopkins.
In response to a request for a comment from the TTG, The Wharf’s owner Angela Court said that the tour organisers had hired the venue and that The Wharf itself would not be selling tickets.
