OK, I haven’t watched this new show, The Voice, although I have an idea what it is about- a bunch of singers hoping for a big break. So, I passed and didn’t comment when one of the judges made a homophobic tweet last week. But this- I can’t pass up.
So this contestant, Nakia, is gay, and now he is offering up his definition of a homophobe as he talks about the judge who made the tweet:
“Trust me,” said Nakia to Zap2it. “From the time I’ve spent with him, he’s the furthest thing from a homophobe. He’s so down to earth and he’s so ready to party with anyone who has a bottle to drink. Trust me.”
Trust you? Heck, I’d trust Tony Perkins before I would trust you. Because the guy will drink your booze doesn’t keep him from being a homophobe. And it certainly doesn’t stop you from being clueless. And, as if a making anti-gay slurs is just par for the course:
“He’s a good ol’ boy,” said the contestant.
There is a need to hold people accountable for the things they say and do which are anti-gay. We call people who make these anti-gay statements and actions homophobes. That may not be the best term, but it does fit, and for now, it is what we have. My guess is that if we were talking about him and calling him anti-gay, Nakia would claim he isn’t.
We also need to call out and condemn this mindset that, a certain level of homophobia is OK, and simply a part of being a “good ol’ boy.” This mindset is the true problem.
Nakia, turn in your gay card.
via Voice Contestant: Blake Shelton Not Antigay | Entertainment News | The Advocate.
So let me get the facts clear…
Blake Shelton – tweets different words to a Twain song in under 140 characters… His meaning isn’t clear
People take the context wrong and run with it.
Blake explains not what he meant
People ignore saying he should have known better
Blake relents and says yea, he should have known better and apologizes admits he was likely drunk and explains again how it was meant.
Some people calm down
Nakia defends Blake – agreeing he believes it was a misunderstanding.
You speak out against Nakia for standing up for someone he knows and has spent time with that you don’t.
Have you ever met, hung out with, or even talked to:
Nakia?
Blake Shelton?
Have you ever put your foot in your mouth? …ever said something that someone misunderstood? …and then apologized for it? Did anyone stick up for you and say hey it wasn’t done in malice?
So who are you to get to judge these people?
I think you have done a great job of demonstrating my point. If being drunk or being a good ol boy makes it OK, then there is a real problem.
We see this same “defense” al the time with youth and how they say, “so gay.” They don’t mean for it to be a slur or homophobic.
Thanks for adding your thoughts to the dialogue!