Citing it as irresponsible and dangerous, Sarah Kate Ellis, president of GLAAD, has called on TLC to drop its plans to air an upcoming special entitled My Husband’s Not Gay. The one-hour program, scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 11, follows the lives of a group of Mormon men who are married to women but attracted to men as well.
“This show is downright irresponsible. No one can change who they love, and, more importantly, no one should have to. By investing in this dangerous programming, TLC is putting countless young LGBT people in harm’s way.” For their part, TLC responded by saying: “TLC has long shared compelling stories about real people and different ways of life, without judgment. The individuals featured in this one-hour special reveal the decisions they have made, and speak only for themselves.”
But the response has done little to quell growing outrage. Josh Sanders, a self-described gay Christian launched a petition on Change.org calling on TLC to cancel the show. “As a devout Christian, I understand the important role faith plays in the lives of the show’s main characters. It was made very clear to me by the conservative community I grew up in that being gay was considered ‘unnatural’ and ‘an abomination’. So I, too, did everything possible to hide who I am. I was even subjected to six months of so-called “reparative therapy,” a discredited and dangerous practice that falsely claims to turn gay people straight. I was promised I could change, and told that I should “pray the gay away.”
Sanders added that the men featuring on My Husband’s Not Gay should be shown compassion and not used merely as vehicles for entertainment.
Currently, 75,000 people have signed his petition. At this time, TLC has no plans to drop the show.
