Munroe Bergdorf Resigns As Labour Party Advisor

Just a week after being appointed as an LGBT advisor to Labour’s Women and Equalities Minister Dawn Butler, trans activist Munroe Bergdorf has resigned from her position due to the backlash against her appointment. In September, the model was hired by L’Oreal as the first transgender model to front one of their campaigns, but was soon fired after many claimed she had posted what they deemed to be racist comments online.

Now, her social media past has surfaced again following of her high profile appointment as an advisor for LGBT issues to the official party of opposition. Tory MP Helen Grant condemned the language used by the model and urged Labour MP Dawn Butler to reconsider her choice. Among highlighted tweets were ‘white supremacists who were fighting for WHITE women’s rights’ and calling gay Tory activists a ‘special kind of dickhead’. The model, who was clearly excited about her new role, said her comments had been ‘turned into nasty tabloid fodder, blown out of all proportion’. In a statement released through twitter, she declared that she would be leaving the role with ‘great sadness’ and that she wanted her appointment to be ‘positive and exciting’ for the community. Bergdorf was one of the 20 LGBT activists and community leaders appointed, for unpaid positions, as informal advisors to shadow equalities minister Dawn Butler, who, according to the model has been ‘nothing but supportive’.

Her assignment with the Labour Party was welcomed by many as, despite her divisive online comments, Munroe Bergdorf is a celebrated trans activist and has been a champion for the rights of trans women and, in particular, trans women of colour. Her resignation, while called for by some, also came as a disappointment to her supporters and those who have looked up to her and the message she was trying to spread.

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.