King’s College London SU investigating ‘homophobic’ messages in cheerleading group chat

A member of King’s College London’s cheerleading team has been accused of sending a series of “homophobic” WhatsApp messages.

Sent in an unofficial group chat for members of KCL Lions, the messages included derogatory terms such as “b*tty boys” and “** likes to take it up the ass spreading their cheeks”.

A now-deleted screenshot of the messages was posted on KCL Confessions’ Instagram page of the comments, where the anonymous submission claimed the screenshots to be “receipts” of the student’s “homophobic” messages.

via Instagram @kclconfessions

The messages were supposedly leaked from a chat believed to be made up of members of the cheer team, nicknamed the “secret shady” chat by the anonymous submission, who claimed the student was “saying this shit in the secret shady [group chat] they had last year”.

The submission also wrote that the student is allegedly “doing damage control” within the “main cheer group chat” as other members have become aware of the messages after they were posted online.

The KCL Confessions Instagram page that shared the screenshots took down the post and the cheerleading team claimed that an investigation by King’s College London SU into the allegations is underway.

KCL Lions has since responded that it does “not condone any form of homophobia or discriminatory behaviour.”

The screenshot displays messages that say “Grindr premium” and “rainbow warriors”, a term which is commonly used against the LGBTQ+ community in a derogatory manner. When The King’s Tab asked for further comment on the context of the remarks branded “homophobic”, the team declined to add to further response on the KCL Lions Instagram page.

When The Tab King’s asked KCL Lions to respond to the allegation that a member of the team was responsible for the “leaked” WhatsApp messages, a spokesperson responded: “I am aware of the accusations that have been made, and I take them very seriously.

“I want to state very clearly that I do not condone any form of homophobia or discriminatory behaviour.

“The messages circulated do not reflect my values nor the values of KCL Lions. I’m also cooperating fully with the university’s investigation to ensure a fair and thorough review of the situation”

The King’s Tab contacted KCLSU for comment, but it has not yet responded.

King’s College London declined to comment.

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Featured image via Instagram @kclconfessions and @kcllions