Ten Walls issues lengthy apology for homophobic remarks

Lithuanian DJ Ten Walls has made another public apology for the homophobic remarks he posted in June.

The dance artist faced a huge backlash after he published a Facebook post that labelled gay people as “another breed” and compared them to paedophiles. He issued a short apology at the time, saying that the views he posted “did not reflect my true opinion.” However, he was met with a huge backlash and had several shows and festival appearances cancelled.

Several months later, Ten Walls – whose real name is Marijus Adomaitis – has issued a more detailed apology, claiming he is not homophobic and that the rant was due to “stress”. He wrote: “Earlier this year I posted comments on my Facebook page, that I deeply regret. My post was linked to homophobia and was very offensive. I am ashamed to have hurt so many people: my family, my country, my colleagues, my friends, the Global LGBT community and many others. Since then I have taken time out to reflect on what I did and work out a way of apologising that expresses how sorry I am.”

He added: “Understandably, I was labeled homophobic and I am not and never have considered myself to be this way. I have to tell you that my action was completely out of character and done at a particularly angry and stressful time in my life. This is not an excuse, but I would like you to know that the content of my post is not a true reflection of my feelings.”

Adomaitis also revealed that he was trying to make amends by being part of a musical team writing Carmen, an “electronic opera” that aimed to educate people about LGBT acceptance. He wrote: “It is my intention to do something in my home country of Lithuania, to support LGBT groups and educate others on acceptance and tolerance. I am now part of a group of people who have created an electronic opera ‘Carmen’ with a strong message of this. I hope my involvement in this project will be the first step to educating others in my home country that homophobia is simply not acceptable and that everyone should be free to live the life they choose.”