Updated October 23

An English singer who shared negative experiences she experienced while holidaying in Malta has been assured by Equality Minister Owen Bonnici the homophobia she witnessed was "isolated". 

Lucy Spraggan, who is a singer-songwriter and who took part in the popular UK X Factor contest in 2012, told her 565,000 Instagram and Facebook followers about being sexually harassed while holidaying in Malta with her girlfriend.

"Malta was beautiful, but experience was not," she wrote, after describing how she faced harassment by different men during her two-day break.

She described a waiter in Valletta making sexually explicit comments to the couple, some "local men" making derogatory gestures and even yelling "lesbians" to her as she walked around with her partner. 

"I am sick to f****** death of feeling threatened as a woman. Sick to f****** death of feeling threatened as a lesbian. I am sick to f****** death of being spoken down to by men across the globe," Spraggan wrote. 

She said she had chosen Malta for her holiday because she heard it was LGBT friendly and progressive.

'Hugs from Malta!'

Among the thousands of people reacting to Spraggan's social media posts, was Equality Minister Owen Bonnici, who said he felt "terribly upset" about the "bad experiences" the singer went through while in Malta. 

"Trust me, those isolated acts do not represent how the majority of Maltese and Gozitans feel about the LGBTIQ community," he wrote.

"We are so proud to be so passionately in favour of Equality and LGBTIQ rights in Malta and I would absolutely love you and your partner to join us here in Malta when we're hosting Europride in 2023. Hugs from Malta," Bonnici said. 

Owen Bonnici's response.

Europride is a 10-day event taking place in Malta in 2023 that will include human rights themed conferences, community building and networking, a Queer arts and culture festival, social gatherings, a pride village, and the “largest celebration of diversity and love Malta has ever seen”.

In May, for the sixth consecutive year, Malta’s LGBTIQ rights remained one of the most comprehensive for citizens in Europe, after the country topped ILGA’s European Rainbow Map Index. 

Spraggan's Instagram post was filled with messages of support for the couple with many thanking her for her honesty.

Many commenters said her post would dissuade them from travelling to the island.

"Absolutely shocking!", wrote one person. "Thank you for posting this, as we will now not be planning a visit."

However others described positive experiences in Malta.

"I am so sorry your experience in Malta was awful," said one. "I am very surprised because I have been there three times on football tours... with a predominantly lesbian team and not once did we experience the kind of s**t you and your partner had to deal with."

Spraggan 'blown away' by Malta support

Spraggan later wrote that she was surprised by "the incredible influx of love from the Maltese community" who were upset by their experience, including the minister. 

"I can tell, by the response of so many Maltese people, we ran into some that do not represent the good Malta," she wrote. 

Spraggan said that she hoped that her post had started a conversation about the challenges LGBTIQ+ people faced when selecting a travel destination. 

"LGBTQ ‘Friendly’ would be a win," she wrote, "but we are actually looking for LGBTQ Safe."