Miller may have shot short when they pulled their logo from the Folsom Street Fair’s Last Supper-inspired poster.
The brewery’s executives thought their action would quiet anti-gay Christians, they underestimated the tenacity of homophobic Christians. Since Miller won’t yank its sponsorship from the leather celebration, the Catholic League’s launched a boycott against the brewery. Appearing on Fox and Friends this morning, the League’s president Bill Donohue explained his disgust:
Never have we experienced greater corporate arrogance than in this dispute with the Miller Brewing Company. Miller is sponsoring an incredibly outrageous and palpably anti-Christian event in San Francisco: the Folsom Street Fair.
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This all started when we learned that Miller was sponsoring an event that featured an obscene ad thrashing the Last Supper. After being pressured, Miller offered a lame statement of regret and said it was pulling its logo from the ad. Not only has it not done so–it is still posted on the website of the street fair–Miller refuses to withdraw its sponsorship.
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Accordingly, Miller leaves us with no options: we are calling on more than 200 Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu organizations to join with us in a nationwide boycott of Miller beer. We feel confident that once our religious allies kick in, and once the public sees the photos of an event Miller is proudly supporting, the Milwaukee brewery will come to its senses and pull its sponsorship altogether.
Why would non-Christian groups even care about this? Also, does Donohue really think conservative Muslim leaders are going to give a fuck? They don’t even drink.
Matt
OK, I’ll bite. Seems to me this is one of those Very Special Cases in which EVERYONE’s being an asshole. Frankly, the poster (which is nice enough and sorta clever) is designed solely and specifically to piss off a specific and highly piss-offable segment of our society for no particularly politically useful reason, and as an extra added bonus to put sponsors (whose participation in gay events we should celebrate) on the hot seat. It’s just bad judgment on the fair’s part to have gone this route. It’s irrelevant to the event, and just incendiary (while they’re at it, why not throw a leather-thonged Mohammed into the mix, to just add to the fun?). The christians are reacting predictably, and being their usual self-righteous buttwipes, but they wouldn’t be going to the fair anyway, so who gives a fuck what they think? Miller doesn’t want its logo on a poster that’s clearly intended to be needlessly controversial–seems to me that’s something the organizers probably should have expected when they decided, “Hey, let’s do a poster that’ll royally piss off the religoids! Won’t that be fun!” Miller’s not pulling sponsorship, cuz they’re capitalists and homos buy more beer than fundies, and it’s all about who drinks more crappy beer. Someone please correct me if I’m way off base; I don’t live in SF, so maybe the Folsom Street Fair and Last Supper iconography are closely and traditionally intertwined. If not, then this little politically-pointless piss-storm was totally predictable, utterly avoidable, and the poster’s just a stupid, self-indulgent, shortsighted, sophomoric thing to have done. And the religious right can go fuck themselves.
Paul Raposo
Oh, bullshit, Matt. Since God apparently created us in his own image, that poster simply features those images.
Secondly it’s a parody of a painting of an event that may, or may not have taken place. If a group of religios want to get pissy about it, then tough shit. My cousin has a last supper painting featuring dogs. Oh, damn him for pissing off the precious religionists!
Thirdly, the poster clearly wasn’t created to, as you so foolishly stated, “piss off a specific and highly piss-offable segment of our society for no particularly politically useful reason” because it was only posted in in the gaybourhood. Obviously some religious nut went there–why *I* have no idea, saw the print, got their panties in a bunch and cried all the way to Fox news. It’s not like they took out a billboard on the 101.
Stop being an apologist for the religious right. It’s amazing that everyone is permitted to appropriate religious imagery except the gays. I didn’t see anyone bitching when the Sopranos did this. What this comes down to is Jesus depicted as a black gay man and that’s what all the bitches are getting pissy about.
Dawster
if it was ACTUALLY “anti-christian” then the poster wouldn’t be the last supper, it would be the last 12 hours of jesus life.
Donohue made it sound like there was a flier announcing “it’s the ‘flog the nearest Christian’ time here at the Folsum Street Fair! everyone bring a whip!”
and what an presumptuous statement he made… assuming Jews and Muslims can work together… (and technically speaking, Muslims don’t drink alcohol…)
Rick1973
What’s the big deal with this poster. I think it truly represents the fistival (Hehe)! The “Christians” have found yet another thing wrong with the gay community. Big Deal!!! How can they expect the LGBTQ community to respect what is sacred to them when they cannot and CHOOSE not to respect us at all? As for The Miller Brewing Company, I think they know better when it comes to shunning our community. When I first came out in Chicago I couldn’t find a Miller Beverage in any of the bars. I’m sure they don’t want to face another boycott after the years it took for them to have their product in our bars. The Catholics may have their beer gardens but we can drink them under the table any day of the week.
Matt
Paul–I’m hardly an apologist for the christian right. I’d be happy if they were all raptured off my planet tomorrow, thank you (I just don’t want to see their pasty naked asses flying through the air, so let’s do the rapture thing when I’m asleep please). I just think this whole thing is stupid and poorly thought out. Interesting point about the gay black Jesus, though…hadn’t really thought about that.
WWH
Yawn. (but I agree with Matt)
jcleroy1982
Whatev. One of my closest friends was at the Folsom Fair planning meetings, where it was explicitly stated that this poster was designed to garner publicitity for the event (which is, after all, the purpose of promotional posters). And it’s definitely fucking working. They had every understanding that the poster — which I think is exceptionally well-done — would be inflammatory to some; I don’t know if they expected it to become a national story, but I imagine they’re thrilled.
One of the issues is that we’re pretty much in a bubble here in SF, so we tend to forget that Conservatives exist. We read about them in the news and online, but in general, SF and Conservatives have a mutual understanding to just pretend one other don’t exist. So it’s a definite violation of that tacit understanding to be picking this fight with us. Although technically the fight is with Miller, I suppose, for having the nerve to endorse us.
Anyway, at the end of the day, this is just another battle for all the publicity whores out there to see who can get showered in the most newsprint. Blah blah.
Miss Understood
It’s just a bunch of people sitting at a table. Big fucking deal. I’m all for intentionally pissing off idiots.
fanboi
The posters subject matter was obviously picked specifically to piss off the right wing. Imagine the meeting when they picked it… someone HAD to say “the bible bangers won’t like that – we’ll get boycotts” but someone else said “who cares – serves em right.”
That said, free speech is free speech, and noone is trying to force the Catholic League to dress up in leather and walk up and down Folsom.
dizzyspins
Has anyone noticed the hipocrasy that Christians are threating a brewery that they’re not going to buy their beer? I though good Christians don’t drink–or dont drink much anyway. What’s next–boycotting Marlboro or Scores?
topthis1969
Excuse me, but the only person who has any right to criticize portrayals of The Last Supper is Leonardo DaVinci. It’s his fucking painting…
not the religious right’s. This is one of the most parodied works of art ever. The Soprano’s,
The Simpson’s, Popeye, everybody and their brother
has taken a shot at lampooning it, but when the queers do it, it’s suddenly contemptuos? Hell, how long is it going to take for some asshole member of congress to pass a resolution condemning this ad? Kudo’s to Miller Brewing Company for standing with us on this one. That being said, be mindful of the throngs of protesters
infiltrating the event with cameras to take pictures of all the “sodomites practicing perversion” in public during broad daylight and posting them on the Fox News for everyone to ridicule. This will undoubtedly be one of the lamest FSF’s ever, and could doom one of the greatest and longest running gay parties in the world. Wake up queers….gay bars are closing left and right….repubs are trying to wipe out our culture and way of life…throwing them raw meat like this stupid ad did hardly serves our interests. NO, it shouldn’t be that way…BUT IT IS!!!!!
cjc
Maybe they’re pissed because Jeebus in this version of the Last Supper is black. And a very hot black daddy indeed.
queertardo
the RR is pissed because Sister Roma is sitting at the right hand of a black Jesus, the right hand is the place of high honor. There is no sacrilege in this photo because photography, artwork, media, etc. is not true blasphemy according to the Bible. The blasphemy is that the Catholic Church and mainstream Christianity worship idols. Besides, do any of these Christians causing a fuss really know what Jesus and his followers looked like, ate, celebrated or were doing on the night the painting symbolizes? – no- the entire event is up to the imagination.
Excuse me please, while I go look for another sacred image of the Virgin Mary in my pantry, refrigerator, or garden, I keep seeing her everywhere these days on items being auctioned on E-bay.
ampdy
wasn’t leonardo de vinci gay anyway?
misskitty
MissUnderstood, and that is about as lame as you can get. Why when everything is at stake with the Hate Crimes amendment, gay marriages, tolerence and inclusion becoming mandatory in schools, do you want to piss people off? So they can think we are all a bunch of SM freaks? San Fran is of it’s own little world. But, others are not so lucky. I think this hurt the gay and lesbian community so much so that we will see the effects long into the 2008 elections. Just as people are starting to be more tolerant, this comes along just to piss people off? Well, this stupidity pissed me off!
hisurfer
Geek alert: The Last Supper was a common motif in medieval and Renaissance paintings. It’s not just da Vinci!
I like the poster. I like that it is provocative. But if you’re going to be provocative, you must know that corporate sponsors will run away. It’s just par for the course.
Folsom is supposed to be subversive (I think; I’ve never actually been) – I’m not sure what they’re doing with so many multi-national sponsors anyway.
smf 3038
The Gays are mentally ill. Iran knows how to take care of them. You would hear complaints if the queers were posing as mohammed. Gays are queers and mentally ill. It’s sad that we have so many freedoms in this wonderful country and such morons set out to abuse our freedoms and liberties…. Sad! I will never buy from anyone who supports such filth.
Heather_L_James
SMF, homosexuality was removed from the rolls of mental disorders years ago. America has reached a consensus on “abuses of freedom”, these are called crimes, homosexuality is not a crime in the United States. The time of persecution of “queers” is at an end, mainstream America sees through the lies and hypocrisy of the religious right. Your leadership and policies have left America weaker and on the brink of a financial miasma. Your time is over, hope you enjoy irrelevance and impotence.
joan
Oh heather…..Just because a bunch of flaming homos say its over doesnt make it so. It isnt over by a loooong shot. Gay people are %@^&$# up…Wrong bassackwards …against nature..all that as far as many are concerned. Just because its forced in our faces at at malls and tv and everyplace it seems , does NOT mean we have to accept it. I dont. Its wrong and sickening. The fact that gays are allowed to adopted little children just frightens the crap out of me and makes me want to puke. Its all
WRONG!