Gay Times magazine fired their recently appointed editor, Josh Rivers, apologising for the offence caused to members of the wider LGBT+ community.

Josh Rivers was appointed as Gay Times editor this week, however the magazine’s decision fell under fire rapidly as Josh Rivers grossly offensive Twitter tirades came to light.

The magazine took the decision to terminate Rivers’ employment “with immediate effect” when tweets expressing transphobic, misogynist, antisemitic and other offensive views came to light.

Apology

A statement from Gay Times explains that they do not tolerate the kinds of views which historical tweets from Rivers present:

“After an investigation of the facts surrounding historical tweets by Josh Rivers, the newly appointed Editor of Gay Times magazine; we announce that his employment has been terminated with immediate effect.

“We sincerely apologise for the offence that has been caused particularly to those members of our wider community to who such inappropriate and unacceptable commentary was the focus.

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“Gay Times does not tolerate such views and will continue to strive to honour and promote inclusivity.

“Gay Times magazine will relaunch on 30 November, with what is quite possibly the most significant overhaul in its 33-year history.

“All articles written by Josh Rivers have been remove, and the new-look magazine will feature submissions and significant contributions from the far reaches of our wonderful and diverse LGBTQ community.”

Tweets

A BuzzFeed article highlighting some of Rivers’ offensive tweets dating back to 2010 surfaced earlier this week, leading outraged LGBT+ users on Twitter to slam Gay Times’ decision to hire Rivers.

Rivers’ tweets target lesbians, the elderly, “fat” people, Jewish people, trans people, Asian people, African people, women, specially-abled people, and even more.

The offensive tweets in question were deleted from Rivers’ account following the backlash and an apology was issued on his Twitter account:

“My 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.”

https://twitter.com/_joshrivers/status/930815661932187649