Gareth Thomas reveals he was spat on and called an ‘AIDS spreader’

Welsh rugby legend Gareth Thomas has recalled being spat on and called a spreader of AIDS. 

The activist and former Wales rugby union captain was telling Daily Mail podcast The Life of Bryony about the abuse he has faced.

Thomas, who revealed in 2019 that he was HIV positive, told presenter Bryony Gordon that he once offered to hug two boys after they spat at him in the street. “I won’t sit here and be the big guy and say it doesn’t hurt,” he said.

“The two young lads who walked past spat [at] me and called me an AIDS spreader. I stopped and I opened up my arms. They walked past me, one spat at my chest, one spat at my feet. They walked past me [and] waited for a reaction and I just opened my arms and it kind of put them off because they wanted a reaction that was completely different.” 

The first rugby union player to be capped 100 times by Wales, Thomas said the culprits called him names but he continued to offer them a hug. 

“I’ve been the better person in all of that because they wanted the reaction. They wanted me to say something. They wanted confirmation that I was a bad person and I refused to give [them] that.” 

Thomas, who also played rugby league for his country, went on to talk about having to “assess the environment” he enters to avoid situations arising from HIV-related stigma. “Many people” are discriminated against because of their association with him, he revealed.

Speaking of his husband Stephen, who is HIV-negative, Thomas said: “He’s a brilliant teacher. It’s difficult for him at times because he’s afraid of the stigma that might come from the students within the college.” 

Thomas’ parents have also been subjected to cruel comments but his decision to be open about having HIV was only used by “a very loud part of society that will use that vulnerability to keep you down”. 

Shortly after revealing his health status, the star appeared in the documentary, Gareth Thomas: HIV and Me, and, in 2020, launched Tackle HIV, a public awareness and education initiative in partnership with ViiV Healthcare and the Terrence Higgins Trust. 

For more information visit tacklehiv.org and follow @tacklehiv.

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.