Franklin Graham Sues UK Venues Over Canceled Tour

The Guardian reports:

A conservative US evangelical organisation is taking legal action against UK entertainment venues that cancelled appearances by Franklin Graham, a preacher who has expressed homophobic and Islamophobic views, earlier this year.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) is suing venues in Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield and Wales for breach of contract. Franklin Graham told the Guardian in February that he was “being denied [a platform] because of religious beliefs”.

The court cases have been highlighted by openDemocracy as part of an investigation that uncovered evidence of millions of dollars spent by the BGEA and other organisations on the US Christian right since 2007 to further their agenda in Europe and elsewhere in the world.

Graham sued other UK venues earlier this year. It doesn’t appear that those cases have been resolved.

A planned UK tour by US evangelist Franklin Graham is in question after every venue booked by the preacher canceled planned appearances following an outcry over his homophobic and Islamophobic comments. https://t.co/fWOu7YG29h

— CNN (@CNN) February 6, 2020