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The coronavirus pandemic and responses to it have had uneven impacts on different segments of societies. This study analysed the experiences of LGBTQIA+2 people during the COVID‐19 emergency, based on interviews in the United Kingdom and Brazil in 2020. The two countries are instructive cases, given the different social, cultural, economic, and political contexts. Pre‐existing marginalisation shaped COVID‐19 experiences in both settings, influencing the challenges faced, such as isolation or disruption to transgender healthcare, and coping strategies, including the important role of LGBTQIA+ volunteer and mutual aid groups. This paper argues that despite commonalities, there is no single LGBTQIA+ experience, and that disaster strategies will be ineffective until they recognise intersectionality and support the diversity of LGBTQIA+ populations. It concludes with a call for more inclusive disaster research, policy, and practice, which requires scrutinising the dominant cisgender–heteronormative structures that produce and reproduce LGBTQIA+ marginalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]