Editing Bob Geldof (section)

==Controversies==
{{Criticism section|date=May 2025}}
Geldof swore on the music television programme ''[[CD:UK]]'', saying "Fuck the tape" while concluding his chat with [[Cat Deeley]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjZrUHGEHcA |title=Bob Geldof on CD:UK |access-date=8 April 2014}}</ref> At the NME awards in 2006, when accepting an award, Geldof referred to the host [[Russell Brand]] as a "[[cunt]]".  Brand responded by saying "It's no wonder Bob Geldof knows so much about famine – he's been dining out on '[[I Don't Like Mondays]]' for 30 years".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jun/18/broadcasting.arts | newspaper=The Guardian | location=London | title=This charming man | first=Barbara | last=Ellen | date=18 June 2006 | access-date=26 April 2010}}</ref> Then, in mid-July 2006, he infuriated many New Zealanders by criticising the New Zealand government's foreign aid contribution as "shameful" and "pathetic".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Field |first1=Michael |title=Foreign aid 'shameful' |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3732261a11,00.html |website=stuff.co.nz |access-date=13 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060717035339/http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3732261a11,00.html |archive-date=17 July 2006 |date=15 July 2006}}</ref> [[Winston Peters]], the [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] responded that Geldof failed to recognise the "quality" of New Zealand aid as well as other New Zealand contributions.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0607/S00212.htm |title=Geldof deserves support but has his facts wrong &#124; Scoop News |website=Scoop.co.nz |date=14 July 2006 |access-date=10 August 2010}}</ref>

During mid-November 2008, a local for-profit organisation, Diversity@Work, invited Geldof to Melbourne, to speak about Third World poverty and the failure of governments to combat the crisis.  It was later revealed that he was paid $100,000 for his speech, which included a luxury hotel room and first-class airfares.<ref name="dt15Nov2008">{{cite news | title=Sir Bob Geldof wants $100,000 for anti-poverty speech | url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sir-bob-geldof-wants-100000-for-anti-povery-speech/story-e6freuy9-1111118041648| access-date=19 July 2010| newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=15 November 2008}}</ref>

===AIDS 2014 Conference===
During a special session at the [[XX International AIDS Conference, 2014]], Geldof referred to [[sex workers]] as "[[Prostitute|hookers]]",<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/PIo4TMZSMy4 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20150528090804/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIo4TMZSMy4 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIo4TMZSMy4 |title=A Conversation with Sir Bob Geldof: HIV and Poverty - the Challenges Ahead |publisher=International AIDS Conferences |date=15 August 2014 |access-date=20 November 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> for which he was subsequently criticised. Christian Vega, a [[sex workers' rights]] activist and a member of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]'s peer-only Victorian Sex Industry Network (VIXEN), criticised speakers including Geldof for their use of pejorative language; Vega contended that this language perpetuated stigmas that are among the key barriers to HIV prevention.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/07/24/engage-africa-fight-aids-geldof |title=Engage with Africa to fight AIDS: Geldof |publisher=SBS News |date=24 July 2014 |access-date=20 November 2014}}</ref> Geldof responded to the criticism during the closing session of the conference: "I read today in the paper that my talk yesterday was littered with profanities – fuck them." In Geldof's view, rights-based language hampered HIV prevention, and he defended using terms such as "hookers" and "[[wikt:junky|junkies]]": "Let's not get distracted by diversionary language. Let's call it as it is."<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/ZNATkRmIUp0 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20150522092413/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNATkRmIUp0 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNATkRmIUp0 |title=Closing Session |publisher=International AIDS Conferences |date=28 July 2014 |access-date=20 November 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In a radio show after the conference on [[Joy 94.9]], Vega dismissed Geldof's view that rights-based language was a waste of time as "ridiculous". In Vega's view, this language served as an important tool to challenge [[Social stigma|stigma]] and discrimination, particularly within an HIV context.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://joy.org.au/saturdaymagazine/2014/07/when-someone-calls-you-a-hooker/ |title=When someone calls you a hooker |publisher=Ben Rylan JOY 94.9 |date=26 July 2014 |access-date=20 November 2014}}</ref>

===Freedom of Dublin and Easter Rising comments===
In 2016, when Ireland was marking the 100th anniversary of the [[Easter Rising]], Geldof caused controversy when he likened the rebel leaders to [[Islamic terrorism|Islamist]] [[suicide bomber]]s. The uprising in Dublin against British rule was a key event that led to Irish independence. Geldof called it the "[[original sin]]" of the Irish state.<ref>{{cite news |title=Straight talker Bob Geldof releases WB Yeats documentary |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/arid-30828314.html |work=[[Irish Examiner]] |date=16 February 2018}}</ref>

The following year, Geldof returned his [[Freedom of the City of Dublin|Freedom of Dublin]] award in protest at Burmese leader [[Aung San Suu Kyi]] holding the same honour. He said he does not want to be associated "with an individual currently engaged in the [[Rohingya persecution in Myanmar (2016–present)|mass ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people]]".<ref name = renounce>{{cite news|title = Bob Geldof renounces honour also held by Aung San Suu Kyi|first = Isabel|last = Bennett|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/13/bob-geldof-renounces-honour-also-held-by-aung-san-suu-kyi|date = 13 November 2017|access-date = 13 November 2017|newspaper = [[The Guardian]]|url-status = live|archive-date = 13 November 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171113052832/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/13/bob-geldof-renounces-honour-also-held-by-aung-san-suu-kyi}}</ref> He added that if Suu Kyi "is stripped of her Dublin Freedom, perhaps the council would see fit to restore to me that which I take such pride in".<ref name = renounce /> The [[Lord Mayor of Dublin]], [[Mícheál Mac Donncha]], accused Geldof of hypocrisy, saying "I find it ironic that he makes this gesture while proudly retaining his title as [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]], given the shameful record of British imperialism".<ref>{{cite news |title=Geldof returns Freedom of the City of Dublin in Aung San Suu Kyi protest |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-30813886.html |work=[[Irish Examiner]] |date=13 November 2017}}</ref>

One month later, Dublin City Council voted to revoke the Freedom of the City from both Suu Kyi and Geldof, with several councillors saying Geldof had "insulted" Dublin.<ref name = SuuKyiRevokedRTE>{{cite news|url = https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2017/1213/927221-aung-san-suu-kyi/|title = Councillors vote to revoke award from Aung San Suu Kyi|work = [[RTÉ News]]|date = 14 December 2017|access-date = 15 December 2017|archive-date = 14 December 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171214071527/https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2017/1213/927221-aung-san-suu-kyi/|url-status = live}}</ref> Geldof was furious at the decision to revoke his award, calling it a "[[Sinn Féin]] stitch-up" because of his Easter Rising comments.<ref>{{cite news |title=Furious Geldof blames 'Sinn Féin stitch-up' for losing freeman status |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/furious-geldof-blames-sinn-fein-stitch-up-for-losing-freeman-status-sx66zr55s |work=[[The Sunday Times]] |date=15 December 2017}}</ref>

===Mauritius Leaks===
After being criticised earlier in the decade for his stance on aid to African countries,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/08/bob-geldof-wrong-africa|title=Why Bob Geldof is wrong about Africa|first=Greg|last=Mills|date=8 March 2013|website=Theguardian.com|access-date=2020-06-05}}</ref> in July 2019, according to a report on its "[[Mauritius Leaks]]" project by the [[International Consortium of Investigative Journalists]] (ICIJ), Bob Geldof was mentioned as allegedly involved in tax avoidance by corporations and individuals doing business in Africa and other continents. His private equity fund 8 Miles (named after the shortest distance between Europe and Africa: the eight miles width of the [[Strait of Gibraltar]]), which aimed to generate a 20 per cent return by exclusively buying stakes in African startup businesses, had set up subsidiaries in the tax haven of Mauritius, "an offshore jurisdiction with a wide network of double taxation treaties in interesting markets". Geldof declined to comment on the leaks.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/bob-geldof-s-private-equity-firm-sets-up-office-in-tax-friendly-mauritius-1.3966464|title=Bob Geldof's private equity firm sets up office in tax-friendly Mauritius|first=Will|last=Fitzgibbon|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icij.org/investigations/mauritius-leaks/about-the-mauritius-leaks-investigation/|title=All you need to know about ICIJ's Mauritius Leaks Investigation|website=Icij.org|date=23 July 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icij.org/investigations/mauritius-leaks/treasure-island-leak-reveals-how-mauritius-siphons-tax-from-poor-nations-to-benefit-elites/|title=Mauritius Leaks exposes tiny tax haven's role in vast offshore system|website=Icij.org|date=23 July 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://africatimes.com/2019/07/24/mauritius-leaks-details-africas-revenue-loss-to-offshore-tax-haven/|title='Mauritius Leaks' details Africa's revenue loss to offshore tax haven &#124; Africa Times|date=23 July 2019|website=Africatimes.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icij.org/investigations/mauritius-leaks/icij-publishes-list-of-mauritian-companies-used-by-conyers-corporate-clients/|title=Download Mauritius Leaks Data: Mauritian companies used by Conyers' clients|website=Icij.org|date=23 July 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icij.org/investigations/mauritius-leaks/inside-the-firm-at-the-heart-of-mauritius-leaks/|title=Meet the Firm at the Heart of Mauritius Leaks: Conyers Dill & Pearman|website=Icij.org|date=23 July 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://qz.com/africa/1671301/bob-geldofs-african-fund-8-miles-used-mauritius-to-avoid-taxes/|title=How Bob Geldof's African investment fund avoids paying taxes to some of the continent's poorest countries|first1=Max| last1=de Haldevang|first2= Justin|last2=Rohrlich|website=Quartz Africa|date=23 July 2019 }}</ref>