An ABC-TV anchor took heat for suggesting that gays should “just come out” on a special Thanksgiving Day edition of “The View.”
Host Raven-Symoné, who identifies as bisexual, was being joined by some of her co-hosts and veteran critics Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar for a chat about the events that transpired at last weekend’s Democratic National Convention.
During the chat with Goldberg, the two discussion topics turned to LGBT rights. When a call for “more compassion and gentleness” on the issue is raised, Behar said: “Just because you’re gay, you can’t really be one thing. You can be gay, bisexual, you can be transgender. But come out! Just come out!”
Goldberg recalled the first gay couple she met in her life.
“It had nothing to do with politics,” she said. “This is a woman that I loved and it had nothing to do with the issues. This was a woman that my daughter was going to marry.”
The remark prompted an immediate backlash from both Twitter and Facebook, with commenters including “Brady Black,” who said she is currently gay, and “Proud High School Lesbian.”
“My co-workers thought I was going to be fighting with Raven/ABC over her anti-LGBTQ comments but it turns out it’s about supporting me and all of the LGBT people who have been discriminated against and have lost their jobs because of their orientation,” Black wrote.
On Twitter, Goldmine posted a statement Tuesday in support of the LGBT community.
“The comments made on ‘The View’ yesterday were truly disgraceful,” she wrote. “They are in no way a reflection of who I am or the principles that make me who I am.
“I deeply apologize to all of those offended by my comments. I unequivocally support the rights of the LGBT community and I will continue to fight for their civil rights as a member of the entertainment industry.”