Singaporean Radio DJ Exits Tedx Event After Requests to Cut LGBTQ Themes From Speech

Radio presenter Joshua Simon was set to give a talk at a TEDxYouth event on June 29 when he was asked by Singapore Polytechnic to remove and edit his speech’s LGBTQ+ contents.

In response, he removed himself entirely from the event.

In a Facebook post that has since been shared over a thousand times, Simon describes how he had come to this decision after the committee behind the event received a copy of his talk the day before. They requested that he edit the speech. He then alludes to which contents the school deemed “sensitive.”

“It would be against my principles to flip the gender of my ex when mentioning my breakup and to totally leave out my coming out story to my father,” he wrote. He goes on to say that both of those incidents were “defining moments” of his personal history.

Speaking to VICE, Simon disclosed how the communication with the TEDx committee unraveled.

“I felt safe to talk about my life [at TED]. It was all really exciting. Vulnerability is the most courageous thing, and I was going to go in there and be vulnerable on stage. I was devastated to have been left behind.”

"I was asked to talk about my experience interviewing celebrities instead. But that's the obvious thing everyone was expecting from me. I could have done that all along. But I didn't prepare a speech for months in advance, on something people really need to hear about, for me to cop out and talk about celebrities" Simon told VICE.

In a statement released by Singapore Polytechnic, a spokesperson said that “certain parts [of the speech] relating to his sexuality might be inappropriate for the target audience.”

The statement also addresses Simon’s decision to remove himself from the event altogether.

“The students were disappointed but respected his decision,” it said. The school offered to apologize to the radio presenter in person.

In Singapore, gay sex is still considered a criminal act under section 377A of the penal code. Many Singaporeans who are part of the LGBTQ+ community still face discrimination every day. It’s worth noting that Simon's speech was supposed to occur on the same day as Singapore’s only pride gathering, the annual Pink Dot festival, where celebrations are contained to one area of the city.

In his post, Simon revealed how “instrumental” TED talks have been to his own growth and learning. This was partly why he initially agreed to speak at the event. But his decision to step down ultimately stemmed from a refusal to set a precedent for future members of the LGBTQ community.

Simon said that he would not have been honoring his own story if he carried out the censorship he was asked to. This transcended the need to cater to the masses. Instead, he chose to keep the story he wanted to tell.

“I’ve learned to love myself,” Simon told VICE, “and that’s something I struggled with all my life. I figured out how to do that. I can’t just go in there without talking about the sacrifices it took to get here.”