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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Stars of banned condom ad fear Duda's re-election

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Stars of banned condom ad fear Duda's re-election
Stars of banned condom ad fear Duda's re-election

For Jakub Kwiecinski, a ban by Poland's public broadcaster on a condom advert featuring him and his husband has come as no surprise, but it does make him uneasy about what targets a government clampdown on LGBT rights will pick on next.

Emer McCarthy reports.

For Jakub Kwiecinski, a ban by Poland's public broadcaster on a Durex condom advert featuring him and his husband was unfortunately, no surprise.

But it raises fears for what the government will do next when it comes to LGBT rights in the staunchly Catholic country.

"We fear what's going to happen next.

First they remove you from the advert, next they remove all LGBT themes from the movies and series and then they will say Eurovision Song Contest cannot be broadcast because there is too much LGBT in it.

This is crazy." Broadcaster TVP told Reuters its decision not to air the commercial followed a quote, "a large number of complaints ...about advertising clips with intimate content." The ban on the ad- a rare instance of LGBT representation in Polish media- roughly coincided with a promise by President Andrzej Duda to allow no teaching of LGBT issues in schools if he wins a second term in office on June 28.

Duda is an ally of the governing right-wing nationalist PiS party, which has labelled lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender "ideology" an invasive foreign influence that undermines traditional values.

Kwiecinski's husband Dawid Mycek said Duda's re-election poses a serious threat to Poland's LGBT community.

"The election of President Andrzej Duda for another term, I think it would be the worst thing that could happen to the LGBT community when he decides to sign the "Family Card" which will discriminate against us in a very obvious way." Brussels-based NGO ILGA-Europe this year voted Poland as the worst in the European Union for LGBT rights.

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