# American Idol: Mandisa Comes Out As Homophobic **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 9, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140 "2006-05-09T23:14:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/41 "2006-05-10T21:42:48Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Keep in mind that a protein molecule can be hydrophobic or hydrophilic, and no one gets their undies bundled over it. [/QUOTE] This is a crazy argument. Protein molecules aren’t free to be other than what they are, so they can’t be held responsible for what they are. This is like claiming, “Keep in mind that tornadoes kill people, and no one prosecutes tornadoes for murder.” People exhibit moral autonomy; mere things do not. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/42 "2006-05-10T21:46:57Z")
[QUOTE=Subterraneanus] This is a crazy argument. Protein molecules aren’t free to be other than what they are, so they can’t be held responsible for what they are. This is like claiming, “Keep in mind that tornadoes kill people, and no one prosecutes tornadoes for murder.” People exhibit moral autonomy; mere things do not. [/QUOTE] Um, no; it merely demonstrates that the suffix “-phobia” has more than one meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/43 "2006-05-10T21:51:07Z")
[QUOTE=Homebrew] Certainly she’s as much of a ragin’ homophobe as Phelps; but she’s closer to him than she is to Larry Kramer. I’ll temporarily let her slide when she claims she didn’t know about Beth Moore’s support of Exodus. We’ll see when her “Mandisa Ministries” website returns whether she still links to Moore’s, which then goes on to Exodus. [/QUOTE] I’d find it kind of hard to believe she wouldn’t know about it, seeing as how the “ex-gay” thing is part of Moore’s backstory (she literally claims that Satan tempted her to be a lesbian and that Jesus saved her from a lifestyle that “she knew was wrong”). Mandisa has apparently performed at Moore’s shows and served in her ministry. Since the “heal the gays” thing is a centerpiece of Moore’s act, I think Mandisa would have to be aware of it. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/44 "2006-05-10T21:59:34Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] . BUt to say you wouldn’t perform at a gay event, would be like me saying I wouldn’t perform at a black event. It’s still bigotry. [/QUOTE] Why? I won’t perform at a gay event or a straight event. Events based on a sexuality don’t really appeal to me that much unless it’s a one on one event. If that’s the salient point that folks wanna lynch her for, then I don’t get it. It doesn’t necessitate bigotry, just disinterest. I don’t go to a woman’s expo, not because I’m a misogynist, it’s just because it’s not my cuppa. As for supporting some mythological crap, well, that’s her own business. It doesn’t sound like Mandisa has said she subscribes to everything Moore is preachin’. Just because someone’s a Catholic, doesn’t mean that they agree 100% with the RCC. I must say that Beth Moore sounds more Jack Chick than anything: > [@](#): > > [Moore](http://www.tvgasm.com/archives/american_idol/001874.php) is the author of such books as Breaking Free: Making Liberty in Christ a Reality in Life, which contains the following passage: “A young Christian girl has a harsh abusive father. She grows up with a fear and distaste for men. Satan supplies a slightly older woman who seems tender and caring. The comforting relationship turns into a physical relationship, so the young woman assumes she must be homosexual. In her heart she knows what she is doing is wrong, but she feels helpless without her new comforter. Soon she starts socializing with other women who are practicing homosexuality, because they will support her new habit with the lies she needs to continue. She avoids the Bible and chooses books that advocate homosexuality. She drops all relationships except those that support the fraudulent attachment with lies… Scary, isn’t it?” All it’s missing is the “Haw Haw Haw!”. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/45 "2006-05-10T22:08:47Z")
[QUOTE=stpauler] Why? I won’t perform at a gay event or a straight event. [/QUOTE] WHat the heck does that mean? If you were asked to perform at a big Gay Pride Parade event, you’d refuse on the grounds that it’s a Gay Pride event? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/46 "2006-05-10T22:15:04Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] I’d find it kind of hard to believe she wouldn’t know about it, seeing as how the “ex-gay” thing is part of Moore’s backstory (she literally claims that Satan tempted her to be a lesbian and that Jesus saved her from a lifestyle that “she knew was wrong”). Mandisa has apparently performed at Moore’s shows and served in her ministry. Since the “heal the gays” thing is a centerpiece of Moore’s act, I think Mandisa would have to be aware of it. [/QUOTE] I have to take this back. In my google research, I misunderstood the excerpt from Moore’s book (quoted by **stpauler** ) as being about Moore herself instead of just some kind of weird hypothetical scenario which Moore finds “scary” for some reason. Here are some more alleged quotes from Moore I found [here](http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/showpost.php?p=7753970&postcount=1) (link goes to another message board so grain of salt and all that). > [@](#): > > “We are wise to address another deadly assault of the evil one [Satan] in our society: homosexuality. I have wonderful news for anyone who has struggled with homosexual sin. God indeed can deliver you and anxiously awaits your full cooperation. Do not let Satan shame you into not seeking forgiveness.” > > “I believe the assault of homosexuality specifically against the people of God is Satan’s devious means of infiltrating the church with perversity…” > > “Homosexuality is one of Satan’s primary agendas in our current society. He is selling it at every corner..” If these quotes are accurate, and Mandisa was indeed unaware that her hero was a spewer of this kind of bile, then I hope she’ll disown any association with Moore and publicly disavow this kind of hate speech. ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/47 "2006-05-10T22:28:11Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] WHat the heck does that mean? If you were asked to perform at a big Gay Pride Parade event, you’d refuse on the grounds that it’s a Gay Pride event? [/QUOTE] If I were asked to perform at a big Gay Pride Parade event, I would refuse on the grounds that it is a political event and a no lose situation. I would just want to sing and sell records, not to be identified with a political cause one way or the other. I woould not appear at a Bush fundraiser, the DNC convention, etc. Lack of desire to perform at a political rally does not mean that a performer has contempt for the cause. (Not saying I know Mandisa’s real fealings, but these are mine. I am asked to speak occasionally at various groups around my community. I am happy to be in an educational forum, but I would and do refuse to appear at a “rally”, no matter what the cause.) ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/48 "2006-05-10T22:34:22Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] WHat the heck does that mean? If you were asked to perform at a big Gay Pride Parade event, you’d refuse on the grounds that it’s a Gay Pride event? [/QUOTE] Yup, I don’t believe in celebrating sexuality anymore than I would for being left-handed. It’s just not that interesting to me. Just because I don’t go to pride nor would I perform if asked doesn’t mean that I’m a bigot. It just means I’ve got no interest in celebrating who I like to fuck or marry or partner, et al. To each their own, if you want to celebrate your gayness, go right ahead. But just because I don’t celebrate mine (or others, for that matter) doesn’t make me a bigot or a homophobe. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/49 "2006-05-10T22:41:31Z")
Gay Pride parades may be somewhat about ‘celebrating’ our ‘sexuality’, but they’re also about ‘making sure we stay visible so we’re harder to exterminate’. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/50 "2006-05-10T22:49:42Z")
[QUOTE=Ensign Edison] Gay Pride parades may be somewhat about ‘celebrating’ our ‘sexuality’, but they’re also about ‘making sure we stay visible so we’re harder to exterminate’. [/QUOTE] Like I said, to each their own. I’ve made more straight people comfortable with me being gay and homosexuality in general by not flying the rainbow flag. It seems to me, the more it’s in people’s faces, the more of a visceral reaction they get from it. Every civil right’s movement has its infancy period where it’s more of the heavy activist side (ACT-UP/Radical Faeries for the gays, Black Panthers, et al). These are useful tools in the begining as they draw attention to the cause. However, their prolonged existence because detrimental as they’re never demonstrative of the whole. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/51 "2006-05-10T22:53:13Z")
[QUOTE=stpauler] Yup, I don’t believe in celebrating sexuality anymore than I would for being left-handed. It’s just not that interesting to me. Just because I don’t go to pride nor would I perform if asked doesn’t mean that I’m a bigot. It just means I’ve got no interest in celebrating who I like to fuck or marry or partner, et al. To each their own, if you want to celebrate your gayness, go right ahead. But just because I don’t celebrate mine (or others, for that matter) doesn’t make me a bigot or a homophobe. [/QUOTE] So . . . if you were a successful singer, with a big gay following, and you were publicly invited to sing at a Gay Pride Event, you would publicly refuse to do so? Never mind that performing there would probably bump your CD sales for a time? ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/52 "2006-05-10T22:54:14Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] There are worse bigots out there, no question. BUt to say you wouldn’t perform at a gay event, would be like me saying I wouldn’t perform at a black event. It’s still bigotry. [/QUOTE] She didn’t say she wouldn’t perform at such events, just that she wouldn’t be comfortable doing so. It’s possible she’d be willing to step outside her comfort zone. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/53 "2006-05-10T23:03:18Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] So . . . if you were a successful singer, with a big gay following, and you were publicly invited to sing at a Gay Pride Event, you would publicly refuse to do so? Never mind that performing there would probably bump your CD sales for a time? [/QUOTE] Yup, I even wrote a song about folks who identify with a part of themselves so much that it becomes their sole identity, be it gay, or black, or handicapped. I’m sure you know the kind too. The ones who only eat at “gay restaurants” only will go to “gay barbers”, etc. They’re so myopic that they miss out on all of life’s peripheral things. I guess I’d rather not live my life based on innate qualities, but celebrate life for all its diversity. So, for me to play at a gay pride thing, would be to become a hypocrite. ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/54 "2006-05-10T23:32:28Z")
The most generous possible read of the Advocate interview is that Mandisa is uncomfortable with gays and has a religously-based aversion to homosexuality. In this day and age, I just don’t see any reason why this attitude should be supported. I wasn’t a big fan of Mandisa anyway, but if she’s got her head in the sand so far as to feel icky around the gays, I have no use for her whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/55 "2006-05-10T23:36:35Z")
[QUOTE=stpauler] Yup, I even wrote a song about folks who identify with a part of themselves so much that it becomes their sole identity, be it gay, or black, or handicapped. I’m sure you know the kind too. The ones who only eat at “gay restaurants” only will go to “gay barbers”, etc. They’re so myopic that they miss out on all of life’s peripheral things. I guess I’d rather not live my life based on innate qualities, but celebrate life for all its diversity. So, for me to play at a gay pride thing, would be to become a hypocrite. [/QUOTE] So . . . performing at gay event, is the same thing as only eating at gay restaurants? Your tail is waggin you, dawg. ---
**Author:** ![BabaBooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@BabaBooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BabaBooey)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/56 "2006-05-10T23:45:01Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] So . . . performing at gay event, is the same thing as only eating at gay restaurants? Your tail is waggin you, dawg. [/QUOTE] What’s the big deal about not performing at agenda based events? You’re making an issue of something that isn’t there. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/57 "2006-05-10T23:55:43Z")
[QUOTE=BabaBooey] What’s the big deal about not performing at agenda based events? You’re making an issue of something that isn’t there. [/QUOTE] Dude, I’m trying to understand why someone would refuse to perform at a gay event \*simply because it’s a gay event. \*There are a number of imaginable reasons for such a position, so I’m asking questions. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/58 "2006-05-11T00:42:52Z")
[QUOTE=stpauler] Yup, I even wrote a song about folks who identify with a part of themselves so much that it becomes their sole identity, be it gay, or black, or handicapped. I’m sure you know the kind too. The ones who only eat at “gay restaurants” only will go to “gay barbers”, etc. They’re so myopic that they miss out on all of life’s peripheral things. I guess I’d rather not live my life based on innate qualities, but celebrate life for all its diversity. So, for me to play at a gay pride thing, would be to become a hypocrite. [/QUOTE] Yes, I’ve known people like that, but they were usually people who had just come out, or just moved to the “big city.” For them, it was a necessary stage in the evolution of their own self-acceptance, and they eventually grew out of it. For those who don’t grow out of it, perhaps the term “heterophobia” might be applicable. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/59 "2006-05-11T01:00:20Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Dude, I’m trying to understand why someone would refuse to perform at a gay event \*simply because it’s a gay event. \*There are a number of imaginable reasons for such a position, so I’m asking questions. [/QUOTE] Not simply because it’s a gay event; simply because it’s a political event. **stpauler** does not wish his art to be used in the service of a political end. Allow him this preference, as long is it serves him. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140/60 "2006-05-11T02:29:34Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Um, no; it merely demonstrates that the suffix “-phobia” has more than one meaning. [/QUOTE] Um, you lost me. But that’s OK. As you were. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-mandisa-comes-out-as-homophobic/356140.md?page=4)