On a recent episode of her popular podcast, My Therapist Ghosted Me, Irish media personality and model Vogue Williams revealed that she was invited to travel to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, but declined the opportunity in solidarity with her sister, Amber, who is a lesbian.
The 37-year-old said, “They invited me over to the World Cup and to do all this influencing stuff and [I was like] I’ll take my sister, my lesbian sister. How would you feel about that?”
Recognising that homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, punishable by fines, imprisonment and even death under Sharia law, Williams refused the invitation without hesitation. She said, “…there’s no way I would go over there. Not the way it is.”
In the episode, Vogue Williams also talks about David Beckham’s involvement with the World Cup. Her co-host Joanne McNally brought up the former soccer star’s deal to promote the tournament, and Vogue agreed that his decision did not sit well with her. Furthermore, the model encouraged the ex-England player to donate some of his £10 million earnings from his ambassadorship to LGBTQ+ charities.
Williams also talked about how she admires Joe Lycett for his cash-shredding stunt which put some pressure on Beckham and drew attention to the fact that he’d accepted such a large sum of money from Qatari officials. In the lead up to the event, the queer comedian publicly challenged David Beckham to terminate his partnership with the 2022 World Cup, and threatened to shred £10,000 of his own money if the football star went ahead with his ambassadorship. David Beckham did not respond to the proposal, and ultimately, Lycett donated the money instead.
Williams has been a visible ally to the LGBTQ+ community for over a decade. She’s been vocal about her support for human rights, and has attended LGBTQ+ rights rallies in Dublin alongside her sister, including the Noise for Marriage March in support of marriage equality in 2012.
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