Pride festival criticized for “throw a milkshake at Nigel Farage” game

A carnival game at a Pride festival in England over the weekend has been deemed in poor taste and accused of setting “a dangerous precedent” for its call to “throw a milkshake” at far-right British politician Nigel Farage. Farage has been publicly splattered with two milkshakes in the past by people who disagree with his politics.

Farage has a long history in the UK of stoking anti-immigrant fervor with his xenophobic policy positions and nationalist worldviews. As leader of the Reform UK party, he pledged to “ban transgender ideology” in schools and stop social transitioning.

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The “Toss a milkshake at Nigel Farage” game was set up at the Chesterfield Pride festival grounds on Sunday by the Chesterfield and North Derbyshire branch of Stand Up Against Racism. The group described it as “harmless fun.”

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Others did not so much share the group’s opinion, including the intended “victim” of the game himself.

“I’m all for a laugh, but this goes too far,” Farage said on Thursday. A Derbyshire local agreed, saying the game was “not just disrespectful, it’s a dangerous precedent.”

Police at the Pride festival were alerted to the game, which asked carnival-goers to throw different “flavored” sponge balls at a cardboard cut-out of the Reform UK leader. They declined any action. Prizes for hitting Farage with a “milkshake” included sweets and a Stand Up to Racism badge.

A spokesperson for the group sponsoring the game called the controversy manufactured.

“We like to think it’s the sort of game that Nigel himself would smile at. He is surely aware that although four million people voted for him, many more object to his views on LGBT rights, women’s rights and migrants,” the group told the Derbyshire Times.

“Nobody was harmed and many people had a good laugh and welcomed our presence. Some community police officers did stroll past but clearly thought it was harmless fun, too.”

A spokesperson for Derbyshire Constabulary confirmed that it had received a complaint about the stall and added, “The report was reviewed by a sergeant and it was deemed no laws had been broken. No further action is being taken.”

Conservative chat show host Alex Phillips, a former member of the European Parliament and colleague of Farage, saw things differently, describing Farage in terms similar to those Donald Trump’s supporters did following his attempted assassination two weeks ago.

Nigel Farage's fear of being the next target is a stark reminder of the dangers of political violence. The 'toss a milkshake at Nigel Farage' game at a Pride Festival is not just disrespectful, it’s a dangerous precedent. #RespectForAll #InclusivePride #EndPoliticalViolence pic.twitter.com/0l1DRgqDqO

— Adam Johnson (@AdamAdamjhonson) July 26, 2024

“He feels like he’s got a duty, an obligation, that he can stick his head above the parapet and speak out for people like you. Whether you love him or loathe him, he is doing it for you,” Phillips said.

“And frankly, Chesterfield Pride needs to grow up, because they would not accept this if this was against a gay politician.”

Chesterfield Pride declined to comment on the controversy.

Farage, 60, has been assaulted twice with milkshakes: first in 2019 when a Brexit opponent threw one at him, accusing the then-leader of the Brexit Party of “spouting bile and racism” in the lead-up to European Parliament elections. 

Farage pushed for Brexit, the controversial plan to withdrawal the United Kingdom from the European Union. English voters approved the withdrawal plan, but critics accused the Brexit campaign of using nationalist, racist, and anti-immigrant rhetoric to persuade voters. Farage is seen in the U.K. as a nationalist figure similar to former President Donald Trump in the U.S..

In June, Farage was “milkshaked” again when a young woman tossed a banana shake at the Reform candidate on his very first day of campaigning for a seat he went on to win after seven failed attempts.

Farage appeared to make light of that milkshake incident later that day when he posed with a tray of four McDonald’s banana milkshakes in a campaign stop photo-op.

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