Sandi Toksvig has agreed to meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury after penning a powerful open letter slamming his recent comments about gay sex.
The former Great British Bake Off presenter responded to the Archbishop on Twitter after he said he would “love to sit down over a coffee” to talk about his remarks, which Sandi had previously called “a horrible mistake”.
She tweeted: “Thanks, lovely. Mine’s a black no sugar, please.”
Sandi publicly criticised the Archbishop after he “affirmed the validity” of a past declaration that gay sex is a sin.
He’d said that the notion of marriage is “between a man and a woman” and that same-sex relationships are “incompatible with scripture”, was “not in doubt”.
Penning her open letter, which she shared on Twitter, Sandi wrote: “I know we’ve never met and I should probably call you ‘your grace’ or ‘your eminence’ or something, but I wish we were friends,” Sandi began.
“If we were, I’d call you and say, ‘Justin, Justin, what are you doing?’. We’d have had a chat and maybe I could persuade you that you have made a horrible mistake. It’s what friends do for each other.”
The QI star continued: “You and your other religion pals got together at the Lambeth Conference and the main takeaway seems to be that gay sex is a sin. It was a sin in 1998 and you just wanted to make clear in 2022 that no one in your finely frocked gang has moved on from that.
“Seriously, with the state the world is in, that is what you wanted to focus on? You didn’t have other more pressing matters like, I don’t know, war or poverty?”
Sandi went on to share statistics which revealed that young LGBTQ+ people are more likely to contemplate suicide and self-harm.
“Do you know why?” she questioned. “For many it’s because they don’t feel loved and love, Justin, is supposed to be at the core of what you do.”
The Archbishop later replied by way of an open letter published on Twitter, inviting Sandi to meet with him.
Referencing the “credible death threats” Sandi said she had received over the years because of her sexuality, the Archbishop said: “The hatred and threats that you – and so many other LGBTQI+ people – have experienced in the name of Jesus Christ are a sin.
“I have absolutely no doubt about that and want you to be in no doubt of my position. The Church of England agrees with this view and vigorously opposes conversion therapy.”
He then went on to say there were “deep differences in many areas” of the “complicated global group of churches” that make up the Anglican Communion.
“This week we have been honest about the differences and nevertheless accept each other,” he said.
Help and support:
- London Lesbian & Gay switchboard (LLGS) is a free confidential support & information helpline for LGBT communities throughout the UK | 0300 330 0630
- Manchester Lesbian and Gay Switchboard is a free support, information and referral service for the Manchester and North-West area | 0161 235 8000
- Stonewall for more information on other LGBT services and helplines | 08000 502020
Editor’s note: The headline on this story has been changed from the original version.