Hollywood homophobia is anything but glamorous

When people think of Hollywood, they rarely think of that bunch of conservative people who go to church. “

This is true on either side of the aisle, whether those who are obsessed with promoting “conservative values” or those who praise the liberalism of the Hollywood elite (or, conversely, those who are upset. not being liberal enough).

In modern media, conservatives (publicly!) Seem to be the minority. For every Scott Eastwood, you have a mega pop star who supports Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). For every Chris Pratt, you have a Chris Evans (Or Pine. Or Hemsworth. Or).

Chris Pratt, in particular, has been a hot topic lately. His controversial castings in the new Super Mario movie and the new Garfield movie made headlines, but the real problem with Pratt lies in his history of homophobia and his hypocrisy of playing the nice boy while decidedly not one.

He is the most famous and most recently come under fire for a possessively captioned Instagram post about his wife, which hinted at ex-Anna Faris’ shame for their son’s health issues. Pratt also attends Zoe Church, modeled after the infamous Hillsong Church, the latter being attended by Kendall Jenner and Justin Bieber.

Pratt has denied that Zoe doesn’t accept everyone, but the church she’s molded herself from says otherwise. Brian Houston, creator of Hillsong, said Hillsong accepts gay members but does not “affirm a gay lifestyle” or allow gay leaders in the church. Zoe, presumably, followed her example. And if Hollywood is apparently so liberal, how do you allow homophobes to access positions of power and notoriety?

It is worth saying that not all religious celebrities, or less broadly and more correctly, Christian celebrities are not automatically homophobic. Lady Gaga, for example, is bisexual herself, has fought long and hard for LGBTQ + rights, and has a predominantly gay fan base while being Christian and actively working against fanatics like former vice president Mike Pence.

But the idea that so many celebrities can attend notoriously anti-gay churches and get away with it unscathed deserves investigation. After all, many celebrities and non-famous people claim that canceling culture has ruined careers. Some people think that we shouldn’t listen to celebrities at all that their social capital means next to nothing, and that they can share and hold whatever beliefs they want and never have them relevant.

An argument can be made that as long as celebrities don’t post hateful opinions, they certainly aren’t promoting them, and they can exist however they want. Some people think that religion and politics are forbidden in general, and more so, the idea seems to question why we turn to celebrities in general for political and social advice when they are only there for themselves. to entertain.

The reality of the situation is that celebrities shouldn’t be political benchmarks if you vote or decide an issue based on what your favorite celebrity is saying it can be dangerously misinformed.

But hate transcends political parties, and it can become difficult to justify why celebrity fanatics don’t do harm with a wave of the hand, saying they can believe whatever they want. People have been fired from schools and office jobs for fanatical views, so why is Hollywood any different?

That’s not to say that there has to be ideological consistency between anyone who achieves even a little bit of fame.

But as a gay Christian myself, one has to wonder why these celebrities who are otherwise young and cool and popular enough to have No.1 Billboard hits or be cast in Marvel movies actively choose to attend homophobic churches. As celebrities like Lady Gaga prove this faith, acceptance and celebrity status can all coexist.

While no one should treat their favorite artist like they are an information expert or a political source, the point is that celebrities have power both socially and politically.

Despite all of her political and social problems as a notorious white feminist, nearly 65,000 young people between the ages of 18 and 24 registered to vote after Taylor Swift posted an Instagram post asking her followers to vote, and she vocally supported President Joseph R. Biden in the 2020 election.

When you see the Pratt’s, the Bieber’s, or the Jenner’s of the world going to homophobic churches and living their lives unaffected by anger, what does that say to the 65,000 young people who might do something just because they? do it?

The moral of the story is this: When celebrities are praised, chosen, befriended, and allowed to escape criticism for the hate beliefs they hold, it shows everyone that if you’re popular enough. or pretty enough or talented enough, there is little or no consequence to hate. It’s a precedent we just can’t set no matter how much hilarious jokes on the cast of Pratts Mario as we come out of it.