David Greig apologises for 'careless' online behaviour

Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh artistic director David Greig has apologised for his “careless and harmful” behaviour online, after he was accused of liking tweets that have been labelled transphobic.

The playwright and director, who has led the Scottish theatre since 2016, liked two posts via his Twitter account, which has now been deleted.

One, posted by the writer Julie Bindel, read: “Lads and lasses in the trenches fighting the gender madness – what is the best (very recent) example you can think of that shows how we have won this crazy war?”

The other referred to two separate recent police incidents in Leeds and Aberdeen, and read: “If you are a 16-year-old autistic girl who says someone looks like a lesbian, you will be arrested and held in custody, but if you are a 26-year-old man who punches a woman twice at a women’s rights rally, you will just be cautioned.”

The artist and researcher Rosie Aspinall Priest shared the fact that Greig had liked the posts, accusing him of “openly liking transphobic tweets” that did not “align with the values inherent within Scotland’s theatre sector.”

In an internal email sent on Wednesday, Greig said: “I’d like to start by saying I apologise that my twitter actions have been careless and harmful, and I apologise if anyone has felt less than valued as a result.”

He continued: “I support the human rights of trans people both in principle and in practice. I value my trans and non-binary colleagues. I value my queer, gay and lesbian colleagues. I have programmed and supported the LBGTQ [sic] work at The Lyceum and before. I will continue to do so.”

He said that, on Twitter, he had "followed writers and figures from all sides of many controversial issues". 

"I don’t recall particular instances of liking tweets but I accept that I did," he said.

He concluded: “I believe in human conversation and connection and I have striven to make The Lyceum a place where such connection and conversation takes place.”

It is the second time this month that Greig has been at the centre of a social media controversy, following comments he made after climate campaigner Greta Thunberg cancelled her appearance at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Thunberg cancelled her appearance because of the festival’s relationship with main sponsor Baillie Gifford, an Edinburgh-based investment firm with ties to the fossil fuel industry, which also sponsors the Lyceum Theatre.

Greig criticised an open letter signed by 50 authors calling for the book festival to sever ties with Baillie Gifford, calling it “counterproductive and short-sighted.”

Speaking to the Times, Greig said: “There is no reason why arts organisations should not accept money from companies like Baillie Gifford, which is a good company that is forward thinking and progressive. They have a long track-record of funding the arts in Scotland and their business ethos is sound.”

The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh has been approached for comment.