Former Labour MP Jared O’Mara has blamed Eminem lyrics after coming under fire for anti-LGBT messages he posted online between 2002 and 2004.

The comments were posted on a fansite for Smiths singer Morrissey. In the messages, O’Mara mocked ‘fudge packers and poofters’ and lashed out at gay ‘heterophobes’.

One comment read: “I find it funny how some homosexuals think they have the monopoly on being subject to abuse,they should try being Ginger a red head for any charmingly naive cross-pond residents) AND Disabled! Christ, you poofters think you’ve got it bad, My heart bleeds purple wee wee for you, it really does!”


In an argument about whether Morrissey is gay, the MP wrote: “Just cos he writes about gayness and gay issues, doesn’t mean he drives up the Marmite motorway, or, for that matter, allows someone to drive up his.

“And just because I use euphemisms for anal love that can be interpreted as being derogatory by the self -righteous and the PC brigade DOES NOT mean I’m homophobic.”

He added: “It’s just that I prefer to believe the David Bret advocated stance that sez Stevie took a vow of celibacy when the girl he fancied at college (I think her name was Anne Marie?, ‘Half a Person’ was about him chasing a look a like of her).died of cancer.

“And, no, before anyone accuses me of being a homophobe, I’m not. I just think that this story is much more poignantly romantic than fudge packing Jake or anyone else in a casual manner and I don’t want such a lovely vista to be spoilt.”

Last June, O’Mara became the Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam, taking over from former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. He was later suspended by Labour, after the party discovered the ‘homophobic’ messages. He quit Labour earlier this year, just days after being reinstated to the party.

On Monday (October 22), O’Mara denied that he was homophobic. Speaking at Westminster Hall, the MP said that his early ’00s remarks came during a period of listening to Eminem.


“People were bullying me over things that I did not understand when I was 20 or 22,” he said. “They made false accusations of sexism and homophobia. They did not listen to the interviews I had done. They did not listen to me talk about how I am an intersectional feminist and about equality.

“They did not listen to me when I said that my local pub, where I have been going all the time for 12 years, is a gay bar,” he continued.

“I used homophobic words, but they were the words of the time; they were on the Eminem record that I listened to at the time.” He added that the comments were part of an attempt by him to “fit in and not get bullied.”

When O’Mara revealed that he was leaving Labour in July, he said: “I am of the opinion that the Labour Party no longer shares my commitment to the true definition of equality and compassion.”

He added: “There is no doubt that I made mistakes as a young man using distasteful language as a clumsy attempt at satire and sarcasm online. But that does not mean that is who I am today.”