Chubby Brown hopes for Sheffield City Hall ban U-turn amid ‘double standards’ over Franklin Graham

The Star reported on Friday that American Franklin Graham had now been given the go-ahead to preach at Sheffield Arena after taking legal action. But the Chubby Brown City Hall ban remains.

Christian evangelist Mr Graham was due to preach at the Arena in June 2020 but his extreme views prompted protests against the event because Mr Graham has previously branded homosexuality a ‘sin’, spoken out against plans to ban gay conversion therapy and reportedly called Islam a ‘wicked’ religion.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association filed a legal claim for breaking the terms of a contract, and it was revealed on Friday the dispute has been settled and the concert will go ahead.

Mr Graham’s show is at Sheffield Arena and Mr Brown’s is at City Hall. Both are overseen by Sheffield City Trust (SCT), which is funded by Sheffield Council. The council says Mr Brown isn’t banned from Sheffield but, but supports SCT’s decision not to host the show in a publicly funded venue.

The Council said in a statement about the Franklin Graham case: “We recognise that the law around freedom of expression allows for a plurality of views including those with which the council vehemently disagrees.”

Now representatives of Mr Brown have raised concerns over the position, and the comedian himself has said he is hoping something can be resolved

Geoff Ormesher, the comedian’s head of social media, said on Mr Brown’s Facebook page: “Does anyone else think there’s a slight contradiction and double standards from Sheffield Trust/Council?”

He pointed out Mr Graham was a real person with real views, while Chubby Brown was a fictional character/comedian.

Chubby Brown himself said Whitby Pavilion had recently reversed a ban on his show there, and thanked its management.

He added: “Hopefully Sheffield trust /council can see sense and things in a different light in the future as well! We live in hope.”

The performer was due to appear at Sheffield City Hall in January 2022 but in August SCT decided to remove the booking because the show “did not reflect the charitable objectives of the trust”.

POLITICS: Here’s why Roy Chubby Brown is banned from Sheffield City Hall, what fans think and why councillors are debating it

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