Mormon stars face backlash after gay marriage ban

[SoCalNative]

Gladys Knight and Donny Osmond under fire after church lobbies for California's 'despicable' new law

When Brandon Flowers leads the Killers on stage at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco next month, he may not get the ecstatic reception to which six years of rock superstardom have made him accustomed.

It could be a similar story when Gladys Knight plays New Orleans in a fortnight, or Donny Osmond returns to the Flamingo in Las Vegas in January, or American Idol star David Archuleta does the rounds of Hollywood chat-shows to promote his debut album this week. Each singer is a committed member of the Mormons, or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Unfortunately, that's a spiritual calling that in the eyes of California's suddenly vociferous gay rights movement makes them public enemy number one.

"This Mormon church has just taken away one of our fundamental rights, and shown itself to be a nasty church with bigoted beliefs," said John London, a student from West Hollywood, at an equality protest last week. "So when Brandon Flowers, or David Archuleta or any of its other celebrity members show up in a gay neighbourhood, they should know how we feel."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/mormon-stars-face-backlash-after-gay-marriage-ban-1003967.html

[msongs]

1. is that kid the gayest looking person ever on ameriscam idol? nt

[AzNick]

28. Seriously... you have to be right...

But he will get married and be lead a good "straight" life.

Poor thing.

Ameriscam Idol hey... Funny. I think Dave Cook was about the least worse, not the best, the least worse.

Otherwise my daughters insist on me watching this show with them, I hope they'll grow out of it soon.

[skooooo]

2. Mormons getting schooled now!

[bluedawg12]

3. Damn shame.

Maybe people don't like people who go on witch hunts?

[ruggerson]

4. David Archuleta?

rofl

[Booster]

5. Could someone explain to me exactly what a church has to do

to get their tax-exempt status taken away? The IRS seems to be a joke where this is concerned. Hell, Pat Robertson ran for president and that wasn't enough; the Mormons pump 20 million into a CA proposition to defeat it and that ain't enough. I don't get it.

[TlalocW]

6. I plan on beating the snot out of the next Mormon kids who knock on my door!

Okay, not really - I scared them and the Jehovah Witnesses off years ago... Local Baptist church doesn't like me too much because I mocked their decision to call a Halloween party a Fall Festival party (with costumes and games and treats and bonfires and hayrides and everything else you find at a Halloween party)... but I digress.

I've always disliked the Mormons more than any other fundy group out there, and I'll be doing my damndest to make sure no one affiliated with the church gets my money.

TlalocW

[jesus_of_suburbia]

23. To each his own, but I dislike the Southern Baptists even more than the Mormons.

I find the Mormons to be less hypocritical than the Southern Baptists.


Of course I grew up in a hate-filled Southern Baptist church, so I could be biased.

[silverojo]

7. Apparently, there's one requirement to become a Mormon celebrity

You have to suck as an entertainer.

I'm waiting for that whiny bitch Marie Osmond to get a taste of it. She never deserved to be famous, anyway...only the family name, y'know?

[kestrel91316]

8. Gladys Knight is Mormon???? Jesus wept. What must her family think?

Blacks were scum of the earth to Mormons until just a couple of decades ago.

Donny and Marie are just plain talentless hacks, so they deserve to be boycotted regardless of Prop 8, lol.

[SoCalNative]

11. Seriously. An African-American who would join the Mormon church

is like a Jewish person joining the Nazi party or the KKK.

[elshiva]

18. Knight only became a Mormon in 1997.

She is still a great singer. I wonder what her take is on this issue.

[DBoon]

9. They don't want to respect gays

we don't have to respect mormons

karma's a bitch

[roody]

19. I never have respected Mormons.

[hughee99]

10. Harry Reid anyone?

Oddly enough, couldn't find anything out about him being protested for this. I thought for sure the most politically powerful Mormon in the country would be someone to target as opposed to some 17 year old kid who won a singing contest.

[SoCalNative]

14. He should go too

come 2010

[curse of greyface]

15. Jeez not so loud....nt

[jesus_of_suburbia]

24. I had NO clue Harry Reid is a Mormon.

[keepCAblue]

12. Other mor(m)on celebs...

Katherine Heigl (tho she says she's not active in the church right now, she hopes to get back to it later, as she loves the church and has many mor(m)on friends. So, um, how does your GAY friend, T.R. Knight measure up to your mor(m)on friends?)

Rick Schroder and his wife, Andrea Schroder (who was just recently on Bravo's Top Design show, competing against all those gay men!!)

Derek and Julianne Hough, pro dancers on "Dancing with the Stars"

http://www.famousmormons.net/tv.html

[elshiva]

17. Some folks on that list were born into Mormonism, but

don't practice or hate Mormonism now. Eliza Dushku is quoted as hating going to Mormon services.

[keepCAblue]

20. Yes, I know...

The examples I listed are those that are either still active in the church or still have a "love" for the church and are active socially within the Mormon community (Heigl)

I included the link to serve as a reference to where I got my info, not to suggest everyone on the list is an active Mormon.

[elshiva]

21. Don't worry I wasn't accusing you of saying they are all still

Mormons. I just was pointing it out for others. :)

[hughee99]

27. Warren Zevon and Jimmy "Super Fly" Snuka were Mormons?

I had no idea. It said Warren was not a practicing Mormon for many years before his death. It had no info on Super Fly's status.

[d_b]

13. Killers guy is a mormon?

That explains a lot...

[NashVegas]

22. self-delete

nevermind

[d_b]

26. ?

[jesus_of_suburbia]

25. It's very troubling. I wonder if Elton John will remain good friends with him?

I don't think Brandon is the worst of the worst.... he's guilty by association (but from what I've read of him, I think he would have been against Prop 8).

[Jamastiene]

16. Why limit it to only Donnie and Marie in the Osmond family?

The whole fam damily are entertainers (if you want to call them that) and there are a BUNCH of them.

Alan Osmond
Wayne Osmond
Merrill Osmond
Jay Osmond
Marie Osmond
Jimmy Osmond
Donny Osmond

[sui generis]

29. We don't have time to distinguish between "good" and "bad"

mormons. I'm sorry - but if they don't agree with Prop 8, then they're probably not mormons, or not for much longer.

The consequence of belonging to a hate group is that you are associated with it. Don't like it? Break off your association.

[totodeinhere]

31. Right. Any Mormon of good conscience should leave that Church. n/t

[totodeinhere]

30. What about Harry Reid? He is a prominent Mormon.

I say give him the same treatment that the Mormon celebs are getting, especially since Reid does not support full fledged gay marriage.