Sandi Toksvig has said she “never wanted” to speak out against the Church of England (CofE) but she “could not sit by” and let the LGBT+ community be “hurt”.
Same-sex marriage is an issue that continues to divide both the CofE and the Anglican Communion.
Speaking to the BBC, she recognised Most Rev Welby’s position, but said attempts to appease all sides were harmful.
She said: "The problem is there is only one side that is impinging on the lives of others. And I'm afraid the very conservative people who interpret the Bible with less love than I would hope are causing severe mental health problems for the LGBT+ community."
Conservative bishops abroad have been fervent in their opinion towards potential same-sex marriage within the Anglican Communion.
Toksvig continued: "Is it okay to hold a Church together by sacrificing LGBT+ people on the altar of what they believe? Is that okay?"
The QI host first took a stand against the CofE stance on homosexuality and same-sex marriage following the 2022 Lambeth Conference, during which the Archbishop of Canterbury reaffirmed the 1998 Lambeth 1.10 resolution.
The section refers to human sexuality and defines “homosexual practice” as incompatible with scripture.
Most Rev Welby’s decision to reaffirm the resolution sparked an open letter from the former Bake Off star.
In it she claimed: “Jesus doesn’t mention sexuality at all. It clearly wasn’t a big deal for him.”
She cited a survey from Just Like Us, which suggests LGBT+ people are twice as likely to consider suicide and three times as likely to commit self-harm, compared to non-LGBT+ people.
She said the community often feels unloved, and that “love” should be “top of the job description” of the CofE leader.
After vowing never to enter an Anglican church again, Toksvig urged the archbishop to invite her for coffee, concluding her missive by saying: “Let me talk you round. You never know, I might even forgive you.”
The Archbishop welcomed the invitation, and the pair met on Monday the 6th of February.
Despite high hopes, it appears amends were not made. Following their discussions, the television host took to Twitter to share a video titled “As the actress said to the bishop”.
In it, she urged Archbishop Justin to “come out for love” and publically support same-sex marriage.
She accused him of holding “the Anglican Communion together at the expense of the LGBT+ community” and said she no longer plans to “wait upon the church.”
Days later, a similar video was posted from outside the Houses of Parliament, in which she argued bishops had no place in the House of Lords, comparing the UK government to Iran.