Exorcist writer William Peter Blatty is metaphorically vomiting split pea soup on the very institution that inspired his blockbuster book and multi-million dollar film franchise.
The 85-year-0ld horror writer has gone on the record saying that Georgetown University, where the Exorcist was originally set and where he earned his Master’s degree in 1950, failed to adhere to Catholic principles, and should therefore be stripped of its Jesuit affiliation.
Blatty is outraged by the university’s commitment to and support of the LGBT community, most notably the appointment of Georgetown’s first openly gay student body president, Nate Tisa, in March.
Other reasons for his drama?
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- The university once hosted the “the vile play” The Vagina Monologues.
- The university invited openly gay Georgetown alum Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) to give a speech on campus
- The university provides sexual health education to students, including a pro-choice advocacy group.
In the past, Blatty has credited the scholarship he received from the university for helping to launch his writing career. Evidently, however, enough time has passed that he feels it’s okay to bite the hand that once fed him.
Two months after Tisa was appointed student body president, Blatty began circulating a 198-page petition condemning the university for promoting a culture of “moral relativism” and an ideology of “radical autonomy.”
Along with the petition, Blatty’s lawyer, Manuel A. Miranda, released the following statement:
“The Petition we submit today is 198 pages, 476 footnotes, 91 appendices, 124 witness statements, a commissioned 120-page institutional audit of Georgetown, a sworn certification of facts, and a legal opinion. We have documented 23 years of Scandals and dissidence, over 100 Scandals in the most recent years alone.”
Seriously? He could have written a new book with the work that went into 198 pages, 476 footnotes, 91 appendices, and 124 witness statements.
The petition garnered more than 2,000 signatures from Georgetown alumni, and was sent to Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, along with the ultimatum: either better regulate the university, or strip it of its Catholic identity.
“The petition’s primary aim is very much akin to pressuring someone that you love very much into going into rehab,” Blatty told the New York Times.
In response to the Blatty’s petition, 1,200 Georgetown alumni, students, parents, teachers, and other supporters delivered their own petition to the Cardinal, asking that the university be allowed to continue to call itself Catholic and Jesuit.
Georgetown’s Director of Communications Rachel Pugh released the following statement:
“Our Catholic and Jesuit identity on campus has never been stronger. Academically, we remain committed to the Catholic intellectual tradition… We are proud of the countless ways that our students put their faith into action through service and justice programs.”
Blatty, of course, was none to happy about this. On July 1, he responded with a dancing metaphor that was not on par with his literary heyday:
“Georgetown’s defense is like a dancer doing pirouettes on the edge of the absurd.”
Blatty’s most recent novel was published in 2010 and is titled Crazy, a word that unintentionally sums up his most recent actions.
No word yet on what Cardinal Wuerl plans to do or whether he has even perused the 476 footnotes.
Photo credit: iriskh.
hyhybt
Some works, even with a couple hundred pages and twice as many footnotes, simply aren’t worth a response.
rextrek
Hey Blatty – go the fuck away and shrivel up and die already……
bohemianfilm
Well, this news should come as no surprise, considering that The Exorcist is so terribly anti-woman and that the book’s main character is hyper-concerned that his hanging out alone with another male priest will lead to rumors that he is a homosexual.
Gag me with William Peter Blatty.
Mr. E. Jones
Blatty is just pissed off that Exorcist 3 was a piece of shit. Not even George C. Scott could save that crap.
unclemike
*yawn* Even a majority of Catholics now support gay marriage.
Ogre Magi
Why would gays want to be affiliated with Jesuits in the first place
Discodaddybob
FUCK BEATTY AND THE HORSE HE RODE IN ON (Hated The Exorcist by the way)
randalaw
1) Nothing quite as wonderful as the double standard.
2) “The Exorcist” was ALMOST as funny as “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane”
boring
I was about to come on here and talk about how AWESOME and completely underrated Exorcist III was, but Jones had to shit all over it.
Boricuaex
Blatty is clearly possessed. Call an exorcist. A gay one.