Epic Fail By The Independent

[davidgillon]

So I was delighted earlier to find out a friend of mine, Lisa Egan, is on this year's Independent  Rainbow List (ex Pink List), and up 10 places from last year. I was less delighted when I found out that she'd only just heard herself, that the Rainbow List gala bash was this evening, and that she wasn't invited. Then it turned out that Liz Carr is also on the list, also not invited. 

What's the common factor?

They're both on the list for disability activism, and they're both wheelchair users.

No matter how you look at it, it's a fail of epic proportions by the Indy.

(The Indy's literary editor has apparently been in touch by Twitter to apologise and promise she'll try to find out what happened  - why the literary editor I don't know)

Makes an interesting combination with Lisa's recent Huffpo piece urging LGBT activists to stand alongside disability campaigners....

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

Ugh.

[davidgillon]

Apparently a handful of people on the list didn't get invites, including at least one very prominent person (possibly informed minds suggest Sir Ian McKellen). There's some suggestion it was because they couldn't find email addresses, which doesn't hold water as Lisa was apparently emailed to ask for a picture (and I'm fairly certain she's written for the Indy in the past).

I had the IoS literary editor apologising to me on twitter, I pointed out I wasn't the one told Cinders couldn't go to the ball and suggested she refocus her attention in that direction.

Looks like it's just as well the Indy wasn't trying to organise a piss-up in a brewery....