Former One Nation candidate Parminder Singh apologises for homophobic comments

A former One Nation candidate has apologised for describing gay people as having a mental illness, saying he was repeating something he "heard people saying on social media".

Parminder Singh, who ran for an upper house seat in Western Australia's 2025 state election, and was campaigning for the party in the current Secret Harbour by-election, made homophobic comments in a video interview posted by Perth comedian and content creator Jasky Singh, better known as Mr Sikkant.

When asked if he thought people were born gay, he responded "no, no, it's a mental illness".

"No-one born anything … I blame on the parents because parents are too busy," he said.

Mr Singh has walked back his comments after One Nation leader Pauline Hanson distanced herself from his comments and said she did not share his views.

"I'm sorry I hurt people," he said in a statement.

"I should not have presented that as a fact. I respect everyone, and I believe every person in Australia should be free to live their life with dignity, equality and respect."

In the video, when Mr Singh was asked how gay people participating in parades affected him personally, he said it was an "advertisement" to young people.

He stood by those comments in his statement.

"I respect everyone, I accept everyone, I just do not like the advertisement and this education in primary school," he said.

"I told [Mr Sikkant] not to publish this, it is a wrong presentation of me."

Jasky Singh told the ABC drafts of the full interview were provided to Parminder Singh prior to being published, and he did not request anything be removed.

However, he said some of the videos had since been taken down from the Mr Sikkant social media channels as he was mindful of how the saga had impacted Mr Singh and his family.

Political backlash

Parminder Singh was number three on One Nation WA's Legislative Council ticket at the 2025 state election but was not elected.

Mr Singh's profile was removed from the party's website following media reporting of his comments.

One Nation WA leader Rod Caddies said on Thursday the interview did not reflect the views of the party and said gay people deserved to feel "equal in society".

But WA Labor minister John Carey, who is openly gay, said he was not surprised by Mr Singh's comments because One Nation had a history of preselecting candidates with similar views.

"This is not the exception. This is the norm in One Nation. When you're a party based on extreme issues, extreme views, that peddle hatred, no wonder that you collect candidates that are vile like this," he said.