Country queen Carrie Underwood made headlines this week when she came out in support of marriage equality.
Speaking with the Independent in England, the “Good Girl” singer explained that,”as a married person myself, I don’t know what it’s like to be told I can’t marry somebody I love and want to marry. I can’t imagine how that must feel. I definitely think we should all have the right to love, and love publicly, the people that we want to love.”
We applaud Underwood’s stance, but as an avowed Christian—albeit one who goes to a “gay friendly” church—she must’ve known she’d get some flack back home in the good old US of A.
Negative tweets have popped up on Twitter, reports Gay Star News:
“@carrieunderwood Is a disgrace. Being vegan and supporting gay marriage doesn’t seem very country at all,” another said.
“Another day, and a another ’gospel’ artist signed to ’EMI’ comes out supporting gay marriage. @carrieunderwood Unequally signed to the devil.”
On CBN, Pastor Scotty Smith from Franklin, Tennessee’s Christ Community Church dismissed Underwood’s message as “a broken understanding of what the Bible’s actually saying… You want to listen to the Scripture in terms of what it says about everything, including marriage, including sexuality.”
Including dietary laws? including slavery? Including genocide?
Sorry, where were we? Oh yeah, Carrie Underwood.
Well, if the American Idol star is feeling besieged by her base, GLAAD has launched a #supportcarrie Twitter campaign to direct the chorus of voices who agree with her.
And Underwood should also know she’s got at least one conservative ally—GOProud’s Jimmy LaSalvia.
“You know, Carrie Underwood isn’t any different from anyone else in America,” LaSalvia told the L.A. Times. “The more Americans think about how issues affect their gay friends and family the more they come to realize that supporting same-sex civil marriage is the right thing to do. More and more people are coming to that conclusion—and that includes conservative Christians.”
Cam
Don’t you love how nuts the right wing has gotten? She can’t be a country singer because she is a vegetarian?
These people are off the deep end at this point. They have been allowed to get crazier and crazier and excused because they say “Oh, it’s my religion.”
Time to stop allowing that excuse. These people are crazy.
Mr
Last time I checked there are about 7,000 known Christian churches that are gay friendly, not including many ECLA (Lutheran) churches. Underwood is but one of the growing number of Christians who refuse to throw stones and start judging others. There will always be those who prefer to judge and who want to deny legal rights…. just like there are STILL people who are against interracial marriage. But, as time moves on fewer and fewer people hold to the stance that gays and lesbians deserve less. Even Obama and many other democrats have done their own 180 in the past 3 years. Change is happening amongst Obamas and Underwoods all over the USA and world.
benny
(( Carrie did not say this American Idol did )) Carrie is told what to say by American Idol = American Idol had come under fire for maintaining what some claim to be total control of the careers of the contestants that sign with their company, 19 Entertainment. The contract the contestants are required to sign gives Simon Fuller’s company the right to oversee not just the recording deal for “American Idol” stars, but also control any merchandising, touring, sponsorship and movie deals. It also gives the producer the right to “record any and all behavior of the contestant “in and in connection with the series” and use the contestant’s likeness, voice and any or all biographical material, whether true or false, any way they want to”, and forbade the contestants to reveal anything about the show where any breaches of confidentiality can result in damages assumed to be in excess of $5 million. American Idol tells Carrie what to say as she is a company owned singer 🙂 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Idol_controversies
Mr
@Cam:
It’s an error to associate the entire “right wing” to one statement about country music… and then to call them all nuts. I know many “right wing” people that are pro equality when it comes to LGBT rights. There wouldn’t be an increasing number of gay marriage states if it weren’t for the progressive changing of those in the Republican party. Keep in mind, ALL Democratic presidential contenders during the last election did NOT favor gay marriage equality. So, the Democrats are only progressing FASTER in the past few years when it comes to LGBT equality.
As far as I can see, an increasing number of people (of all parties) are uncomfortable with being left-wing or right-wing. There is just too much trash, corruption, lobbying and dogma associated with each party.
Cam
@Mr: said…
“It’s an error to associate the entire “right wing” to one statement about country music… and then to call them all nuts. I know many “right wing” people that are pro equality when it comes to LGBT rights. There wouldn’t be an increasing number of gay marriage states if it weren’t for the progressive changing of those in the Republican party.”
________________-
This is a lie. All of the increase in marriage equality states was through the court or pushing by a democratic legislature. Additionally the GOP has been shrinking and purging members who are not within the new ultra conservative orthodoxy. Ronald Reagan would not have even been allowed in the party.
Obama has said he supports gay marriage. Mitt Romney went before Congress to demand the U.S. constitution be amended to prevent it.
Obama signed the DADT repeal, Romney stated that he opposed it.
Obama ordered the DOJ to stop defending DOMA in the courts, and the GOP House lead by Boehner is funding it’s defense in court.
When you have to obfuscate the truth in order to protect your party then you are beyond self hating.
James
Oh for heaven’s sake, Cam and Mr., play NICE or I’m sending you both to bed early like the nasty little children you are behaving like. People have managed to engage in political discourse for centuries without stooping as low as you. Just discuss the topic, boys – and as a timely reminder, the topic is Carrie Underwood.
And Benny? – That contract sure sounds like it meets the criteria of “unenforceable” to me. That level of control is an affront to basic freedoms which, regardless of compensation, would be deemed unconstitutional even by the lowest court in the land.
Mike
“God loves the gays, but only if your a top.”
-American Dad
Vickie
@Cam: My husband is about as right-wing Republican as it gets, and he supports GLBT equality.
Ty
The Country community must’ve forgotten David Allan Coe’s “Fuck Anita Bryant”
ScaryRussianHeather
@#3 benny
NO. That Idol contract is for the contestants during the show and for about 6 mos to a year after.It’s standard reality show contract law, including RuPauls’ Drag Race which you can find online when they are casting, the same exact conditions and penalties..
Carrie Underwood has been off Idol for several years and is a MEGA star in Country. She’s a monster having sold around 20 million albums or so.
She can go to any label she wants. She also can change any management company she wants. Idol has NOTHING to do with Carrie Underwood or any other contestant after their Idol tour and releases stop, approx 6 months after the show.
Idol throws the previous contestants to their new labels and is only concerned with the current year’s crop.
This is simply the effect of maturity, getting off the cattle farm in podunk mid west wherever, marrying a Canadian hockey player.
Mr
@Cam:
Cam, you need to re-read my statements before jumping into your cliche and worn out statements that aren’t factual. The fact IS that in both Washington State and New York the increasing change amongst Republicans IS what pushed gay marriage rights past the 50% mark. The change is slow… but some Republicans ARE changing their tune. If you want to ignore the facts… that is your choice. I’m not advocating right-wing policies… but stating the fact that SOME Republicans are changing their LGBT stance. Your statements, however, aren’t based on facts… just your own anti-right bias and prejudice. As Vickie has shared, there ARE staunch right-wingers that are pro-equality. Just the same as saying that their are pro-life Democrats. Not everyone is the same. Your talking points and prejudicial views need to be updated.
Jonathonz
@Cam: Certifiably.
Carl 1
@Cam: That’s a very offensive and unfair thing to say. I know crazy people, I have a dear friend who spent several years in and out of physchriatric institutions. And none of them are as out of touch with reality as the right wing extremists are. We need a new term, because calling these cretins crazy is offensive to crazy people!
Mk Ultra
Those people are so hypocritical.
Everyone is entitled to their beliefs and to interpret Christianity in any way they want.
This is how Carrie interprets hers and she found a Church that reflects her beliefs.
That’s the great thing about religion and beliefs – one size does NOT fit all.
You have a right to believe what you want and I have a right to believe what I want.
That’s religious freedom.
Religious freedom is not – you get to believe what you want and I have to believe that as well as the whole country.
Fundies have got to learn – they don’t own religion, they don’t have exclusive rights to it, nor do they get to define it for any other person.
Schlukitz
@Cam:
We have a winner! 🙂
Schlukitz
@James:
“and as a timely reminder, the topic is Carrie Underwood.”
Actually, the topic is about Carrie Underwood supporting marriage equality, something that the right wing has been loathe to to do, as Cam rightfully pointed out.
jason
Carrie has done a decent, kind-hearted thing. Good on you, girl.
When you compare her to homophobe-supporters like Rihanna, Carrie is indeed wonderful.
stanJames
@Vickie:
He’s a libertarian – good on social issues but opposed to govt support of eg medical care for all.
I’m prob a liberal libertarian – lots of money to save, but somethings like SS, Medicare, etc are sancrosant. Socially, equality for gay people re Civil marriage etc is the social justice issue of our time
And time to get the govt out of our and our gay friends bedrooms. Everyone of jarority age should be able to marry. the only restrictions – consent of both parties, not too closely related, etc
What the churches do is their business. Were talking civil marriage.
Actually, if a church went screwy and wanted to do a religious rite marriage of my dog and its flees, they could do so.
stanJames
@Mk Ultra:
If you’ve had a lot of experience with the fundies, you might as well try to get the taliban to support gay marriage as the fundies. they are so similar, except for ak47s
Carl 1
@stanJames: Yeah, the fundies prefer M16’s – no way they’d be seen dead with a dirty “commie” gun…
Even though the AK really is the better gun. Just so damn rugged and durable. You could dump in the mechanism, bury it in sand for a decade, dig it up, shake out the crud and sand – and it’d still fire first time. Astonishing piece of engineering, it ranks up there with the Colt SAA revolver.
Derek
How can you say it is a lie that Republicans never support Gay marriage when there are many high profile republicans who do? (Bush daughters, Laura Bush, McCain’s daughter and wife, Olympia Snowe, etc. etc. )
ScaryRussianHeather
@ #1 cam
“Don’t you love how nuts the right wing has gotten? She can’t be a country singer because she is a vegetarian?
These people are off the deep end at this point. They have been allowed to get crazier and crazier and excused because they say “Oh, it’s my religion.”Time to stop allowing that excuse. These people are crazy.”
Why are you conflating the vegan complaint to religion? Or even “right wingers”?
Carrie has gotten on Country music fans’ “wrong side” of some political issues in the past few years like promoting veganism and being anti-rodeo.
How don’t you know that the complaint is about farming? Country listeners are from farming states and object to the vegan platform, which is targeted as promoting compassion especially with factory farming but as a side effect will theoretically put them out of business.
Or do you think these hard working farmers providing food to your family are randomly riding around on their farm machinery from 4 am till dark, talking in tongues, singing God Bless America and plotting the extinction of Liberals as you know them?
Hyperbolizing ad nauseum for “effect” loses the argument and muddies the waters. T
The food and restaurant lobby is enormous and fights PITA/veganism. It has NOTHING to do with religion or even “right wingers”. Unless you just object to any discussion of government tyranny on EVERY issue.
Latest freedoms up for potential loss this week:
* Limiting popcorn portions, sizes of milkshakes and “milk coffee beverages” in where else? NYC
* New crushing cigar industry regulations like prohibiting flavored cigars, single cigar sales, not allowing consumers in the same room as the cigars in cigar stores (wtf), barring cigar store owners from making recommendations or sales over the phone.
Belize
@ScaryRussianHeather: “Latest freedoms up for potential loss this week:
* Limiting popcorn portions, sizes of milkshakes and “milk coffee beverages” in where else? NYC”
Yeah. I don’t really like popcorn, or milkshakes of milk coffee beverages. What I do like is for people to stop beating up and harassing my friends for being of the LGBT. Unfortunately, gay bashings mostly happen in your “farming” states. 🙂
Belize
@Vickie: Will he keep saying that AFTER the elections when people easily swayed by such statements have already voted for Romney?
Mk Ultra
@stanJames:
Oh you don’t have to tell me. I know the depths of their hatred. I know that many of them are dangerous.
I guess what I meant to say was, hopefully Carrie Underwood’s example will show rational religious people that it’s not a huge step to reconcile religion and homosexuality. For those who still have some personal disagreement with it, hopefully they realize that disagreeing with someone who really just wants the same things you want, isn’t a reason to deny that citizen the rights that you yourself enjoy. Equality is the right step. It’s the patriotic step.
Of course the fundies won’t change. In fact, they’ll probably get worse.
The good news is that now the public is waking up to it, and starting to differentiate religion from extremism.
JON
Haters will hate! Lovers will love! What do YOU choose?
Ty
I don’t see why its even news. Outside of Kirk Cameron, Victoria Jackson, Stephen Baldwin and the 1980s group The Jets (who had a large pro-Prop 8 article on their website), all of whom are long-irrelevant washed up entertainers who are brainwashed by religion, the majority of celebrities seem to come out in favor of same sex marriage and gay rights, so what’s the big deal? Dolly, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks and Reba have all come out in support of gay rights in the past as well, so why is it news about Carrie Underwood since it isn’t like she’s the first country artist to support the LGBT community.
scott
@Cam: isnt loretta lynn a vegetarian?
LadyL
The happy fact is, everyone knows someone who is gay and that’s especially true in the entertainment world. More and more people coming out, the growing spotlight on the scourge of bullying, and high profile campaigns like “It Gets Better,” have made the discussion of LGBT rights easier for those who may always have privately supported equality but were afraid (or discouraged by handlers) to speak out publicly.
Schlukitz
@LadyL:
You make an excellent point. Thank you for sharing that thought with us.