#liam simmonds

[k-wame]

wee lad is an agent of chaos im crying 😂😂

[netflixaddictedd]

today a football player came out as gay. We don't know who he is because he didn't feel comfortable in stating his identity, we just know that he plays in premier league. This is the letter that he wrote:

"As a kid, all I ever wanted to be was a footballer. I wasn’t interested in doing well at school. Instead of doing homework, every spare minute I had was spent with a ball. In the end it paid off. But even now I still have to pinch myself when I run out and get to play each week in front of tens of thousands of people. However there is something that sets me apart from most of the other players in the Premier League. I am gay. Even writing that down in this letter is a big step for me. But only my family members and a select group of friends are aware of my sexuality. I don’t feel ready to share it with my team or my manager. That’s hard. I spend most of my life with these guys and when we step out on the pitch we are a team. But still, something inside me makes it impossible for me to be open with them about how I feel. I dearly hope one day soon I will be able to. I’ve known since I was about 19 that I was gay. How does it feel having to live like this?Day-to-day, it can be an absolute nightmare. And it is affecting my mental health more and more. I feel trapped and my fear is that disclosing the truth about what I am will only make things worse. So, although my heart often tells me I need to do it my head always says the same thing: “Why risk it all?” I am lucky enough to earn a very good wage. I have a nice car, a wardrobe full of designer clothes and can afford to buy anything I want for my family and friends. But one thing I am missing is companionship. I am at an age where I would love to be in a relationship. But because of the job I do the level of trust in having a long-term partner has to be extremely high. So, at the moment, I avoid relationships at all. I dearly hope I will soon meet someone who I think I will be able to trust enough. The truth is I just don’t think football is ready yet for a player to come out. The game would need to make radical changes in order for me to feel able to make that step. The Professional Footballers Association say they are ready to help a player to come out. And they have said they will offer counselling and support to anyone who needs it. This is missing the point. If I need a counsellor I can go and book a session with one whenever I want. What those running the game need to do is educate fans, players, managers, agents, club owners — basically everyone involved in the game. If I was to make that step I’d want to know that I would be supported at each step of my journey. Right now, I don’t feel I would be. I wish I didn’t have to live my life in such a way. But the reality is there is still a huge amount of prejudice in football. There are countless times I’ve heard homophobic chants and comments from supporters directed at no one in particular. Strangely it doesn’t really bother me during the matches. I am too focused on playing. It’s when I get back on the plane or the coach and I have time to think that it gets to me. As things stand my plan is to carry on playing for as long as I feel able to and then come out when I have retired. It was great last month to see Thomas Beattie raise his hand and admit to being gay. But the fact he had to wait until retirement tells you all you need to know. Footballers are still too scared to make the step while they are playing. For the past year I have been getting support from the Justin Fashanu Foundation, not least to cope with the toll this is all having on my mental health. It is hard to put into words how much the Foundation has helped. It has made me feel supported and understood as well as giving me the confidence to be more open and honest with myself especially. Without that support I really don’t know where I’d be now. I know it might get to the point where I find it impossible to keep living a lie. If I do my plan is to retire early and come out. I might be throwing away years of a lucrative career. But you can’t put a price on your peace of mind. And I don’t want to live like this forever."

And that is why a show like Jamie Johnson is so important. Gay footballers live in fear. Fear of what their teammates will think, fear of what the fans will say and fear of ruining their dream. It's 2020, and football is probably one, if not the most homophobic enviroment in sports. Gay footballers should be able to be who they are and do what they love without fear of being insulted and discriminated. Like this footballer said, everyone involved in the game should be educated about this topic. Jamie Johnson is doing an amazing job portraying the fear of ruining your dreams just because you aren't straight, and that is why, people should watch this show.

edit: please, don't try to figure out who he is, he clearly wants to remain anonymous and I know for a fact that a lot of people are already looking for clues about who he is. Please respect his privacy.

Edit: I found the full letter, that's heartbreaking.

[multimetaverse]

Jamie Johnson 5x08 Review

Tonight was one of the best, if not the best, Jamie Johnson eps so far. Dillon faced some of his toughest obstacles yet in his coming out journey and we got some sweet Delliot moments. Let’s dig in!

This British kids soccer show continues to make history. We saw some very nuanced and mature discussions between Dillon and Elliot about being gay and coming out; how often on tv do two gay kids actually discuss their sexualities?  Elliot gave Dillon some great advice and perhaps more importantly told Dillon that he was in fact brave and a winner on and off the pitch

You’d have to be daft to deny that Dillon and Elliot have crushes on each other after this ep. Seeing both Dillon and Elliot trying their best to look nice before meeting up with each other was cute and their handhold at the pitch was very sweet. Lots of soft smiles and longing glances and we even got a hug before Elliot left

Laquarn has confirmed that he’s not in any more S5 eps and doesn’t know if he’s back for the yet to be filmed S6. I can only hope he’ll come back. It would be a waste of great chemistry and an engaging character if Elliot was just meant to help Dillon with his sexuality before passing the torch to Ruby. He clearly left the door open for a future reunion when he told Dillon to call him when he was ready. Patrick confirmed in an interview today that he’ll be back for S6 and presumably Dillon will be playing for Foxborough or some other pro team. Being in a relationship would certainly be a good spur for Dillon to come out more publicly. And Elliot’s love of astronomy is a perfect set up for a date under the staahs

It’s true that the show has not really focused on ships in a big way; the most we’ve gotten was Boggy and Nancy and the low key Jack, Jamie, and Michelle triangle. But at the same time if Dillon can take Indira out and kiss Sienna then he should be able to date a boy he likes. It would be tragic if the closest Dillon gets to having a boyfriend or kissing a boy is Liam outing Dillon and claiming that Elliot was Dillon’s boyfriend and that he thought they were gonna kiss

And it’s a bit shady that Eric of all people is suddenly getting a female love interest out of nowhere. I just hope when the show eventually ends that it doesn’t turn out to be another Andi Mack where Cyrus was able to kiss a girl twice and go on dates with a girl and use the word girlfriend when none of that happened with a boy

Jamie Johnson really covered a lot tonight with Dillon. We had a very helpful run down of Dillon’s past with girls and the show carefully explains that Dillon never liked Sienna like that, he never wanted to kiss her, he never had a crush on anyone else like she thought, and he never liked Ruby as more than a friend (at least Duby shippers still have Alba and Liam for an Osborne-Simmonds ship). It wasn’t subtle but I think it was necessary to really drive home that Dillon is really gay and there’s no going back. And we got confirmation that Elliot was Dillon’s first crush, he’s obviously never beaten anyone up on this show and the way he phrases it makes clear that he’s never really thought about liking boys that way until very recently

And boy did this ep ever tackle homophobia. Graham Simmonds was seriously out of order this ep. He clearly didn’t want to believe Liam but Dillon using his aftershave already primed him to believe he was trying to impress someone, he just assumed it had been a girl. He really ran through the homophobe’s greatest hits collection: blaming Ruby’s gay parents, saying being gay was a choice, saying that being gay would end Dillon’s career, and disowning and kicking Dillon out for being gay. I suspect that quite a few of the parents watching JJ with their kids hold some of the same views or act the same way and this ep really holds up a mirror and reflects how ugly that kind of behaviour is. We also see Graham praising Dillon’s accomplishments and character right before Liam outs him which just exposes his hypocrisy even more. I do give the show credit for not shying away from Graham’s awfulness, it’s not going to be a quick change for him to suddenly accept Dillon and I’m excited to see his journey to atoning for his mistakes

Thankfully Mrs. Simmonds returned from her banishment to the shadow realm to tell Dillon she loved him and to tell him to return home. Shaun Duggan said he hoped this ep would be a lifeline for kids watching who may be living in homophobic homes (he also mentioned that CBBC rules don’t allow eps to allow on cliffhangers so he has to end an ep showing that the characters are at least physically okay)

It also challenges the audience, most of whom are probably young boys and men, as to whether they will suddenly stop liking Dillon just because he’s gay. It was a real gamble on the show’s part to have their fan favourite character and the effective second lead of the show come out as gay but it has the tremendous pay off of really making the audience question their assumptions and hopefully for some of them it will change their world views

Dillon and Elliot also discussed homophobia in sports. Dillon correctly notes that there aren’t any out players in the top professional teams. Shaun Duggan mentioned in a BBC interview that they like to bring on professional soccer players when they’re having the kids going through things but this time he wasn’t able to have anyone come on to help Dillon because there are no out players. So it falls to Jamie Johnson to basically create that reality themselves by telling Dillon’s story

Patrick Ward did a phenomenal job tonight and he really is the best of the kid actors. He’s mentioned in interviews that he did a lot of research by watching shows and movies with similar gay story lines. In particular his breakdown set to Behind Blue Eyes by the Who was very well done (and once again the show has great taste in music). And of course, Shaun Duggan did an amazing job writing this ep. He’s openly gay himself and that makes all the difference in bringing an authenticity and depth to this story line. On Andi Mack of the 5 textual gay eps only one, 3x11, was written by a gay man and not surprisingly that was the best written by far of those eps

We were 19 minutes into the ep before Jamie himself briefly showed up. And he was 5th in the credits tonight with Dillon and Elliot taking the number 1 and 2 spots. Actually this whole ep had a very small cast and only a few locations, it really helped focus this ep on Dillon. Having Dillon seek out Jamie is interesting in that they’ve been foils for each from the start. But also because it sends a message to have Jamie Johnson himself praise Dillon, it’s a way for the writers to speak directly to the audience through the title character

We’ll doubtless get some more development on Dillon’s story line in the rest of the season but they’ve done historic work so far. A lot of what we’ve seen so far: the depiction of homophobia, coming out to parents, and two gay kids discussing their sexualities has yet to happen anywhere on Disney. Hell this ep alone had more uses of the word gay than Disney has yet to have

I loved how extra the black and white boxing match cold open was. Not surprising that Dillon sees Mike as the supportive (and non homophobic) father figure he wishes Graham was

This was a big step backwards for Liam’s redemption arc tonight but at least at the end he didn’t seem to buying into his dad’s bullshit about them being the only men left in the house. Liam is by no means blameless but he’s also a victim of his dad’s emotional abuse and his pitting his sons against each other. That little meet up with Eric was interesting because they’re foils for each other in some ways and I’m curious to see what lies ahead for Liam and the U13 crew and for how Liam makes this up to Dillon

Looking Ahead:

Finally we get back to the real meat and potatoes of this show; online gaming! Looks like Mike is bored of gardening at the allotment and wants Jamie to get back into real soccer. We’ll see if Jamie makes into the online tournament

Again, not really sure why Eric suddenly needs Ayesha but we’re getting some Freddie anger over Eric choosing lasses over lads

Until next week Jamie Johnsoners

[turtlelightwood]

😁

Jamie Johnson: Season 5: Episode 13

[celialestial]

is anyone else wondering if they’re going to address the dillon situation between alba and liam?? bc obviously alba is going to b wondering why liam’s older brother is staying w her family and she’ll probably know the real reason. who knows how long dillon will b staying w them, probably only a few days at the most, but alba will still b aware of what’s going on. i wonder if it’ll impact her recent forgiveness of liam. im sure liam’s redemption arc is going be partly related to how he handles dillon’s sexuality in the future and maybe alba will talk to him abt it??? or they could j not address alba at all in regards to this storyline even tho that’d make no sense.

let me know ur thoughts!

[jamiejohnsontalk]

An Analysis of Liam Simmonds

Liam is... Liam can the worst. And sometimes he can be the best. He’s the dumbest character in the series and also sometimes the smartest. He’s the most heartless and sometimes he cares the most. Liam Simmonds is a contradiction. And that’s what makes him a great character.

Imagine the keep reading sign is now a Youtube intro sequence, because that opening paragraph felt like a Youtube cold open. In my head, the character I compare Liam most to is Rumplestiltskin from Once Upon a Time. I think it was mainly after episode 11 that tbf, because oh my god, Liam is just so chaotic whenever he’s on screen. You have no idea what he’s going to do next.

Liam is not book smart. You can see it in, what, season 4, episode 2 when he has trouble reading Freddie’s surname. But he also happens to have a real talent for manipulation. Back to season 4 episode 5, it was Liam who noticed that Alba had anger issues, it was Liam who knew the exact right words to get under Alba’s skin.

So Season 5 episode 11, to me, that was pretty much the Smash the Mirror 2-parter in once upon a time. It’s been a while, but I remember being annoyed in season 4 because Rumple had worked hard at his redemption, and they just ruined it in season 4. But then Smash the Mirror came. And we got to see Rumple at his evilest. And it was amazing. Probably the best episode of season 4, Rumple had never been the main villain before, and putting him in that role. Oh my god, he was so smart and so brilliant and he was so smart.

So maybe it’s not as huge a thing as Smash the Mirror, but they never needed something as big as Smash the Mirror, because Liam hasn’t completed his redemption arc. He’s in the middle of it. Although even if he had completed his redemption arc, I would’ve still loved it. He brings chaos to the show. Because let’s face it, how much bad stuff is he responsible for?

His bullying of Alba in season 4 was the reason that the club had financial difficulties. Liam (controlled by Stormzy) was responsible for Duncan turning to the dark side (even though he was already a terrible dad). He outed Dillon, getting him kicked out of the house. He caused the in-fighting between Eric and Freddie, causing the under 13s to lose the game, and he caused Alba and Freddie to be angry at Eric in season 5.

And saying that, I have to wonder if Liam was thinking about all of that in episode 8. Like, that moment in episode 8 was the moment Liam realised “I’m kind of a terrible person” Because, seriously, when Liam says:

“Look, he’s gone bright red. He knows I’m not lying.” That is terrifying. Coming from a kid. The way he says it, it’s... I don’t know how to explain it. I always said that Liam didn’t really want to hurt Dillon as bad as he did. But even through the rest of the scene, and the rest of the series, Liam’s got more a playful winding up energy to him. But that line, the delivery of that line, it sends shudders down my spine (Not literally, but...)

But I still don’t think he meant to get Dillon kicked out. He was just trying to “play the game” between him and Dillon. And I think that’s how he’s always seen it: It’s a game. Life is a game, and he has to win it. Just another example of terrible parent from dear old Dillon Simmonds.

In episode 8, Liam finally saw the consequences of his actions. In episode 8 and 9, he finally realised that he didn’t like himself. Especially episode 9. So, what brought about his heel faced turn in episode 11? Well, there are two options the way I see it:

1) Dillon came back home. Everything was fine. Finally, everything was back to normal. He could be himself; or

2) When he was acting friendly, how he thought everyone wanted him to act, that’s when he was at his loneliest. Nobody was having anything to do with him in episode 9, but when he acted like how he did in episode 10, people paid attention to him.

Or, of course, it could be a mixture of both. It means we won’t finish his redemption arc in season 5, but I hope he’ll at least be sent down that road again by the finale.

Perhaps in episode 12? If Dillon tells Foxborough he’s gay, and they tell him he should keep it a secret so that they can protect him. And I don’t think Dillon’s ready to be open about his sexuality, but we know from episode 10 that he eventually wants to. I think @mackmeta could right, and it will cause him to stay at Phoenix/the Rovers. And then Liam would blame himself for Dillon leaving Foxborough. And who knows how Graham would react. It’s still hard to imagine season 5 ending with everyone in a good place, but I guess we’ll see how it goes. I look forward to it. I trust the writers.

Now, if you’ll pardon me, I think I’m going to write a short fan fiction about Dillon’s meeting with Foxborough. And also let me know your guys’ views on Liam. Is he good? Is he bad? Is he secretly Randall Boggs’ son? I hope you lot enjoyed reading, see you guys tomorrow.

[calhighwayee]

I really can’t make up my mind about how I feel about Liam rn.

If they give me a wholesome conversation between Liam and Dillon, where they talk about Dillon’s sexuality and Liam apologises for outing him and accepts him, then I’ll forgive him.

[netflixaddictedd]

Okay but Dillon Simmonds really went from this:

To this:

And in less than 10 episodes, I'm proud of him.