just out ▼ april 21. 1009 ▼ 20
M ickey M ouse P rotest
The Walt Disney Company—a paragon of
“family values” in entertainment—is, ironically,
under attack by Morality in Media and the
200,000-member Catholic League. At the center
of this controversy is Priest, a new film from the
Disney-owned company Miramax.
Scheduled to be released nationwide on April
19, Priest tells the tale of five fictional clergy
men, two of whom are sexually active. One of the
“actives” is also gay (a character described by
J cd ¡a briefs
Variety's Greg Evans as “a young priest coming
to grips with his homosexuality”).
William Donohue, president of the Catholic
League, wants Disney to pull the film from
distribution entirely, and he has threatened a
nationwide boycott and stockholder protest. “We
can take their Snow White imagery, which is
already tarnished, and blacken them up a little
bit,” Donohue said at a recent press conference.
“If Disney gets no resistance from the Catholic
League and from Catholics around the country
[over] this film, God knows what we can expect
in the future.”
According to Morality in Media’s president,
Robert Peters, “this movie attacks the Catholic
Church’s teachings as the cause of the [charac
ters’] failings and attempts to undermine the
church’s moral authority at a time when the
world needs all the moral help it can possibly get.
It is not surprising that this movie came from
Miramax,” Peters added. “That company has
produced films featuring cannibalism, animal
worship, explicit sex, occultism—you name it.”
Miramax spokesperson Mark Gill has pub
licly defended the film. According to Gill, the
characters in Priest are “not satanic figures, but
real people in a real world.”
You can voice your opinion by contacting
Michael Eisner, CEO, The Walt Disney Co., 500
S. Buena Vista, Burbank, CA 91521,
(818) 560-1000.
mately successful and brings home a new baby
daughter, Tess. A highlight of the episode is an
impassioned speech given by Bailey, a teenage
boy and one of the show’s leading characters.
Bailey eloquently stands up for Roth in an en
counter with the skeptical social worker who is
handling the adoption.
Party o f Five occupies an important time slot
follow ing Fox’s
popular
youth
dram a B everly
Hills 90210. The
ch aracter
of
Roth— as a teacher
and now a parent—
can significantly
challenge lo n g
standing stereo
types, targeting an
important segment
of the viewing au
dience with affirm
ing messages about
lesbians and gay
men.
Unfortunately,
however, the party
may soon be over.
The series is at risk
for cancellation,
and supportive let
ters are crucial.
Write to Amy
Lippm an
and
Christopher
Keyser, Executive
Producers, Party
of Five, c/o Fox
Broadcasting, PO
Box 900, Beverly
Hills, CA 90213,
(310)277-2211,
e - m a i l :
foxnet@delphi.com;
Priest star Linus Roache
and Chase Carey,
President, Fox Broadcasting, at the same ad
dress.
N ot a G ood B E T
Q ueers on the G uest L ist
One of network television’s more inviting
programs is the new Fox series Party o f Five.
This drama includes the recurring character Roth,
a gay teacher (played by actor Mitchell Ander
son).
Party o f Five's March 15 episode examined
Roth’s efforts to adopt a child. Though he en
counters the expected resistance, Roth is ulti
The cable network Black Entertainment Tele
vision recently re-broadcast an episode of its
Comic View series, in which a viciously
homophobic comedian delivers a nonstop attack
on lesbians and gay men. During her routine,
Sheryl Underwood rails against equal rights for
lesbians and gay men and shouts that homosexu
ality must never be included in any civil rights
movement.
Underwood concludes her stand-up routine
with a "humorous” comparison between gay sex
and a well-known deodorant commercial. “I’ve
got one thing to say to the homosexual,” she yells,
“the penis may be strong enough for a man, but
it’s made for a woman!”
At this bigoted slur, the audience burst into a
standing ovation. Moreover, a panel of judges
gave her the
program’s
award for Best
Comedi a n .
(Comic View is
a "talent” con
test for stand-
up comedians.)
Lynne Har
ris
T aylor,
Comic View's
supervising
producer, sees
nothing wrong
with the whole
affair. In re
sponse to com
plaints, Taylor
has told view
ers, “It is un
fortunate that
you are o f
fended by the
rem arks p er
taining to ho
mosexuals.
Comedy does
not discrim i
nate. Our com
ics often make
fun of different
types of people:
black, white,
A sian, H is
panic, handi
capped, homo
sexual, deaf,
blind, etc., and it is all done in fun. During a time
when stress plays a major part in all our lives,
laughter and the ability to laugh at ourselves is a
priceless commodity.”
Nothing about Underwood’s routine could be
construed as an attempt to “laugh at ourselves.”
She offers a homophobic sermon intended to
promote ignorance and divisiveness.
Underwood’s brand of “comedy” only per
petuates the invisibility of people of color in the
lesbian and gay community, who have to struggle
against racism as well as homophobia. Her hate
ful ranting is, in fact, one of the very reasons that
lesbians and gay men find themselves living in
such "stressful times.”
Sendfeedback to Lynne Harris Taylor, Super
vising Producer, Comic View, Black Entertain
ment Television, 2801 West Olive Ave., Burbank,
CA 91505, (818) 566-9948 or (213) 849-2728,
fax: (818) 566-1655; and Curtis Godson, Vice-
President, West Coast Operations. BET. at the
same address.
I nquiring M inds
W ant to K now
For all its sensationalist sleaze, The National
Enquirer has a certain reputation for accuracy
when it comes to gossipy entertainment news. In
January, the popular tabloid reported that
scriptwriters for Roseanne had put together an
episode titled “D.J.’s Coming Out,” in which the
Conner’s teenage son tells his parents that he is
gay. The Enquirer quoted an "insider” who claimed
the plot could unfold over several episodes, with
the coming out story line ready to air this May (a
critical “ratings sweeps" period, when the popu
larity of TV shows are surveyed nationally).
In the rumored scenario, D.J. (played by
Michael Fishman) develops what The Enquirer
described as “an unusually close friendship with
a new boy at school.” The script reportedly will
deal with the peer harassment D.J. experiences,
his father’s “macho” efforts to teach him self-
defense, and the young teen’s eventual revelation
that “I was fighting myself—fighting my feel
ings.”
The Enquirer s source also reported that—
while Roseanne producers are bracing for a
homophobic backlash from the network (ABC)—
the plot development is fully backed by Roseanne
herself, who hopes “that D.J.’s coming out could
help kids who are going through the same thing."
It remains to be seen if these rumors have any
basis in fact. Rest assured, however, that the
widely read Enquirer has already provoked let
ters from “concerned” homophobes, who prefer
that gay boys kill themselves rather than come
out.
Already overpopulated with heterosexual
teens, prime-time television would surely benefit
from "D.J. ’s Coming Out. ” Send encouraging
feedback to Roseanne, Co-Executive Producer,
Roseanne, c/o ABC Entertainment, 2040 Avenue
o f the Stars, Los A ngeles, CA 90067,
(310) 557-7777, fax: (310) 557-7170.
Compiled by A l Kielwasser o f the Gay and
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, San
Francisco Bay Area Chapter.
B e N ot A fraid
A Memorial Prayer Service for the Gay and Lesbian Victims
of the Nazi Concentration Camps
Gay and Lesbian Outreach
S t Philip Neri Paulist Center
(503) 231-4955
F rid a y , A p ril 2 8 th , 1995 7 :3 0 PM
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