While Star Trek: Discovery has drawn praise for featuring the franchise’s first-ever same-sex couple, unsurprisingly not everyone is happy.
Right-wing activist Peter LaBarbera recently told radio station VCY America that producers should balance the inclusion of Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz’s characters with an “ex-gay” character.
LaBarbera is president of Americans for Truth, an organisation dedicated to “exposing the homosexual activist agenda.”
“The homosexual activists are never satisfied, they always want more, more, more,” LaBarbera said, according to Right Wing Watch. “We have yet to see an ex-gay, a former homosexual prominently portrayed in Hollywood.”
The idea that someone can change their sexuality has been widely discredited, with former advocates of “ex-gay” therapy — also known as conversion therapy — distancing themselves from the movement.
LaBarbera offers a simple solution for anyone offended by the inclusion of a gay couple in Discovery.
“This is more activism, and I guess all we can do is not watch Star Trek,” he said, adding that “this sort of propaganda” is “why Trump won in the first place.”
However, LaBarbera believes that the problem extends beyond just showing gays on television.
Wilson Cruz in Star Trek: Discovery, Credit: CBS
He claims there is a “battle between good and evil” in America and urged anyone listening to “call your congressman” and complain about the Equality Act, which would create federal legislation protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination.
“Call your representative,” he said. “Say you oppose this homosexual legislation which would actually make it easier for homosexual activists and liberal attorneys to persecute people of faith for opposing this juggernaut which calls itself ‘gay.'”
We spoke to Anthony Rapp earlier this year about his role as Science Officer Paul Stamets in Discovery. Rapp said that he was “honored” to be playing one of the franchise’s first openly gay characters.
“I’m also honored to be a part of a piece of work that’s part of the cultural pantheon,” he said. “It’s kind of crazy that I get to be a part of something that means so much to so many people. It meant a lot to me, too. I’m thrilled and I’m honored to be the vehicle for this aspect of the story that’s being told.”
Graeme Reid will continue as the U.N.'s expert on LGBT rights for another three years, as 29 nations back the mandate despite opposition from China, Pakistan, and others.
The U.N. Human Rights Council has voted to extend the mandate of its LGBT rights expert, ensuring continued global oversight of anti-LGBTQ human rights violations for another three years.
Under the mandate, the U.N.'s Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity is tasked with identifying the root causes of anti-LGBTQ violence and discrimination, and advising U.N. member states on how to better protect LGBTQ communities.
The current independent expert, South African scholar Graeme Reid, will continue in the role for another three years. Reid is the third person to hold the position since it was established in 2016.
The U.S. Department of Justice says it has sent more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics allegedly providing gender-affirming health care to minors, as part of an investigation into accusations of "healthcare fraud" and "false statements." In a press release, the department said it is targeting medical professionals allegedly "involved in performing transgender medical procedures on children."
"Medical professionals and organizations that mutilated children in the service of a warped ideology will be held accountable by this Department of Justice," U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
A Church of England parish has paid a five-figure settlement to Matthew Drapper, a 37-year-old gay man who says he was subjected to an exorcism intended to "cure" him of homosexuality.
Drapper, a volunteer at St. Thomas Philadelphia -- a joint Anglican-Baptist church in Sheffield, England -- told The Times that during an "Encounter with God" weekend in 2014, he was told "sexual impurity" had let demons enter his body and that he needed an exorcism to cast them out.
He said a married couple who served as prayer leaders at the church performed the exorcism, instructing him to "break agreements with Hollywood and the media" that had led him into what they called an "ungodly lifestyle."
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