The Newly Appointed Editor Of Gay Times Has Been Fired For Posting Dozens Of Offensive Tweets
Josh Rivers apologised after BuzzFeed News asked him to square a series of old racist, misogynistic, and ableist tweets with his new public support for diversity.

UPDATE:
The newly-appointed editor of Britain's oldest gay title, Gay Times, has been fired after dozens of offensive tweets he had previously written were uncovered.
In an interview with BuzzFeed News published on 15 November, Josh Rivers apologised for a series of racist, misogynistic, and ableist tweets. Later that day he was suspended, and on Thursday his employment was "terminated with immediate effect".
Gay Times said in a statement: "We sincerely apologise for the offence that has been caused, particularly to those members of our wider community to whom such inappropriate and unacceptable commentary was the focus. Gay Times does not tolerate such views and will continue to strive to honour and promote inclusivity."
Rivers was only appointed last month, and the magazine is due to relaunch on 30 November. Gay Times said all articles written by him would be removed from the relaunch edition.
Decades of white-run, white-owned, monocultural LGBT magazines came to an end in October when Gay Times announced Josh Rivers as its new editor, who, as a mixed-race British-American, would become the UKās first BAME editor of a gay menās title.
The news was greeted ecstatically, not least because Gay Times, founded in 1984, attributed the appointment to a desire to ābest serve the magazineās diverse and culturally inquisitive audience.ā Rivers, 31, promised āa monthly journal that speaks to the vast and varied lived experiences of our community Āā in its entirety.ā
This, many hoped, could mark a new beginning of inclusivity, where sexual racism, body fascism, ableism, and other forms of oppression permeating gay media and beyond could be challenged. Say goodbye, then, to the flip book of white abs and white pecs.
The news came as Edward Enninful, British Vogueās first black editor, was preparing his first issue. And it came just 18 months after hip-hop visionary Mykki Blanco said amid a stream of tweets railing against the absence of diversity in the gay press: āI think I will probably be dead before White Gay Media ever becomes inclusive.ā
Gay Times, it seemed, could prove him wrong.

But while researching Rivers ā previously the magazine's marketing manager ā following an invitation to interview him, BuzzFeed News found several dozen tweets between 2010 and 2015 that would shock many readers.
There were tweets about Jewish people: āI wonder if they cast that guy as āThe Jewā because of that fucking ridiculously larger honker of a nose. It must be prosthetic. Must be.ā In another tweet, he applauded as āgeniusā a quote from animated sitcom Family Guy: āJews are gross. Itās the only religion with āewā in it.ā In a third, he asked for film recommendations ā except ones about the Holocaust.

Then there were the tweets about Asian people: āThe creepiest gay men are short, old asian men with long nails. Fact.ā He also described two Chinese people sat next to him at the 2012 Olympics as āsneaky fucksā because he didnāt see that they were there while he āscreamed āwe just shat all over chinaā.ā In another tweet he wondered: āLong day. How would I type that with Chinese accent? Wong way?ā
Rivers tweeted his views about other parts of the world, too: āWaitress from next door just got back from Africa & told me I should go soon. Do I look like Iām trying to get killed? Jog on, honey.ā And, āSo the Egyptian men celebrate by raping women? Cool. Freedom rings for fat, smelly, hairy, cunt-face, backwards rapists. YAY!ā
The tweets about women were of a similar ilk. āIāve just seen a girl in the tightest white tank & lord help me if sheās not pregnant, she should be killed. #grossā

And, āFucking cunting whiney cunts. Cunting whiney fucking cunts. Go change your fucking tampon & stay the fuck out of my way.ā
He also tweeted about lesbians: āI hope that piece of machinery that asshole lesbian next door has been using since 8am cuts off her goddamn hand.ā Anyone hoping Gay Times would include stories about gay women might also be disappointed if they saw another of his tweets: āSo was getting geared up to watch Lip Service. Turns out itās about lesbian dramas. DELETE.ā
To describe transgender people, Rivers used the word ātrannyā or the alternative spelling ātrannieā. One example: āLook here, tranny. 1) you look like a crackhead 2) YOUāRE A TRANNY & 3) your wig doesnāt deserve a mention. Avert your eyes, honey.ā

This is all before we come to Riversā endless tweets about "fat" people (āobese people wind me up. There should be a fat laneā); old or "ugly" people (āPeople-watching in Soho is amaze. Youāll never see a more confident bunch of ugly peopleā), and homeless people (āIām thankful for TFL [Transport for London] & rising bus fares. Letās keep homeless people on the streets & off our buses! #TTā).

But when he speaks to BuzzFeed News, Rivers begins by outlining his vision for Gay Times and how it can be used to promote diversity. āIt is incumbent upon those of us who hold positions of influence to make sure weāre using our platforms to speak to the multitude of experiences of our community," he says.
āWhether thatās transgender, femme, nonbinary, itās important weāre leading on those conversations and handing our platforms over to the people who are best placed to do that.ā
He adds: āRepresentation has been a huge issue for me personally."

His political awakening has "actually been relatively recent", he says. āIn the past couple of years.ā
Rivers begins to talk about a ānetwork of mentoring, learning and supportā he set up called Series Q, based on research findings about the proportion of LGBT people who go back into the closet when they enter corporate environments. "We have a responsibility to show all types of different people, all different shapes, colours, and creeds, that they are valuable, that they are beautiful, and they are loved," he adds.
How then does he square that with his tweets over the last few years that many would regard as concerning to Jewish people and other minorities?
āIn what way?ā he replies. When his tweets start being read back to him, beginning with the ālarge honkerā one, he is stunned.

āOh my,ā he says with incredulity, āThatās on my Twitter?ā
As he hears more, he asks for a link. He then asks when the tweet is from. āWow,ā he replies when he learns it's from 2011. As he is read more and more tweets, his replies begin to form one of uniform astonishment. He says "wow" when he hears his tweets about Jewish people, Egyptian people, women, lesbians, trans people, and fat, ugly, and homeless people. To all: āWow.ā
āThis is really hard to hear,ā he says, as if this is all new to him. But there are dozens like this. āIām kind of stunnedā¦ā He pauses and then offers: āI think it shows an immaturity, a certain amount of self-loathing. I think it shows that before recently I hadnāt been aware of the effects that social media and using platforms in such a nasty and pernicious way had.ā I think, he says, āit shows I have grown."
A lot of people, suggests BuzzFeed News, would see those tweets and think heās nothing but a racist. āI think those tweets, yeah, theyāre perhaps reflective of a lack of awareness.ā Rivers says he has only recently started reading feminist texts and understanding how misogyny is reflected in language.

It is of course the case that not everyone is schooled in feminist theory, queer theory or the sociology of race. But how, as a queer person of colour, could he be so unaware of his own attitudes to tweet such things?
āI think it is a question that can be asked of our community at large,ā he replies. But as someone who now has a public platform, itās also a big question for him.
āThe reasons I say itās a question that can be asked of the entire community is itās something we as a community are not very good at if we think about supporting others,ā he says. Is it not extraordinary that he could be so blind to his own prejudices?
āI think it is unremarkable,ā he says. āIt is very normal to be blind to ourselves. There is nothing new or particularly outstanding about that. We as individuals can move through the world mindlessly. Until recently, I chose to be blind to the world.ā
āWe donāt all get it right,ā he says. But most people also donāt get it so spectacularly wrong so often over such a long period of time.
āAbsolutely,ā he says. āI am a product of my environment ā like many of us are.ā

Rivers doesn't agree that it could sound as if he's blaming his environment, instead of taking responsibility. āI feel like youāre suggesting no one has ever grown or learned or developed,ā he says. āI wasnāt born ready or awake. We should all be given the chance to learn to grow.ā
Given how recent these tweets are, given how recent his political awakening is, and given how he has only just begun to assess his own shortcomings, is he the right person to lead the charge into greater diversity and representation?
āI guess itās never too late to try and be the best version of yourself,ā he says.
The discussion moves on to his tweets about fat people. The gay media has long been accused of body fascism, so tirelessly featuring gym-buffed V-shaped torsos as to compound the insecurities of its readers. Where does his loathing of fat people come from?
Rivers initially says he does not know, that he is āspeechlessā. āIāve never reflectedā¦ā he says, before pausing. āIāve never come back far...to look at how my behaviour in the past⦠I donāt have a problem with people who donāt fit ideal body types.ā
And yet in one tweet he wrote, āArgh, fat old people, bane of my life.ā Again, why is there such a lack of self-awareness?
āPeople go through the world mindlessly,ā he says, in the same vein as before. āBut I have woken up, I have changed, I have grown up⦠I have said things that are not kind or not nice and nor do they reflect the type of person that I have become.ā

To not be politically awakened is one thing, but what caused that vicious, harsh view of others?
āSelf-loathing is not new,ā he says. āWhether itās coming to terms with sexuality, not feeling beautiful enough, not feeling fit enough, not feeling smart enough, not feeling confidant enough, not feeling like I have a place in the world.ā Were those all things he felt?
āYes,ā he says. And it feels like a breakthrough, a moment of genuine self-reflection.
Rivers continues down this path. āI think those tweets show that I was a really unhappy person who lashed out at the world around him.ā He stops momentarily. āI didnāt think this conversation was going to be so personal, but I have since been in therapy and spoken to people about the things I need to speak about. That has been part of my personal journey and itās unfortunate that Iāve said things that are so horrible about people in the past.ā

Rivers begins to confess further. āMy own inability to accept who I am, to accept the intersection of queerness and blackness, to find a place for myself in the world, that journey Iāve been on has led me to a place where I want to do good in the world.ā
But given how recently he has changed, is he ready to edit the worldās longest-running gay magazine?
āI have accepted the challenge,ā he says. āI believe I can do this.ā
It is certainly the case that many people, when faced with terrible things they have said in the past, would not have immediately stopped, thought and listened, offering contrition, reflection and honesty.
And when Rivers is asked if he would consider apologising to Jewish people and other ethnic minorities, women, lesbians, and trans people he immediately says yes. Within an hour of the interview ending, Rivers sends a statement through his publicist:
āMy tweets from a number of years ago show a great deal of self-loathing, a complete unawareness of the world around me and a disregard for others that I find deeply upsetting. To every single person these tweets will offend and disappoint: I am sorry. My role as editor of Gay Times today is to squash prejudice and represent our community in all its glorious and varied diversity. It is through my own development and desire to be a force for good in the world that I can apply my own learnings to help create a space for all of us to thrive within.ā
Hours after BuzzFeed News published this story on Rivers' tweets, Gay Times said he had been suspended pending an investigation.
"Josh Rivers' past tweets do not align with the values of Gay Times, or any of our employees, in any capacity," a statement posted on Twitter said.
"Josh has been suspended with immediate affect while we investigate the facts. Appropriate action will be taken in due course."
A day later, he was sacked.
On Saturday, Gay Times will host an evening of āhonoursā bestowing the leading lights of the LGBT community who have influenced and achieved the most over the last 50 years since the partial decriminalisation.
One wonders what the host of the event, Jinkx Monsoon, will make of Riversā previous tweets. She describes herself as āSeattleās premier narcoleptic Jewish drag queenā.
UPDATE
This post has been updated with news of Rivers being sacked.