Influential gay English actor Rupert Everett has weighed in on the Auckland Pride Parade's controversial ban of uniformed police, asking "what's the point?".
The star of My Best Friend's Wedding and An Ideal Husband spoke with Stuff and was asked to comment on the matter, which is causing division in New Zealand's LGBTI community and has seen funding stripped from the parade.
Everett says the move is a form of "denial" of gay police officers.
"There's so much violence towards us brewing up in places that we need to be friends with police as much as we can," he told Stuff journalist Aroha Awarau.
"Division is the worst thing in the human brain... we're constantly dividing ourselves one from the other. What's the point?
"We've all had irritating experiences with the police but I think we have to put all of that behind us and move forward."
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The Board of Auckland Pride said it was banning police from marching in uniform as the law enforcers "do not currently meet the degree of safety and awareness of intersectionality required by our rainbow communities".
Subsequently, sponsors the Rainbow New Zealand Charitable Trust and Westpac have pulled their funding from the event.
The police force is completely boycotting the parade, as is the Defence Force, in solidarity.
Everett is currently promoting his new film The Happy Prince.
Newshub.
