Comedian Kathy Griffin had a question.
“Gays, mommy has a question,” she tweeted. “Are there Qanon gays? If so, what’s their deal?”
And just like that the My Life on the D-List star opened up a can of worms, with commenters airing their grievances over the LGBTQ folks in their lives who have fallen down the QAnon rabbit hole and can’t seem to get out.
“Yes,” wrote one woman. “My white gay friend. weird as fuck. I’m slowly phasing him out of my life. It’s hard. We have been friends since we were like 13.”
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
yes. my white gay friend. weird as fuck. I'm slowly phasing him out of my life. It's hard. We have been friends since we were like 13.
— Baby O (@Handbasket_) March 3, 2021
Her experience turned out to be something of a theme.
“I cut ties with a white gay friend recently,” chimed in another commenter. “He had become a complete MAGAt, now is anti-mask and thinks Covid is a massive government hoax. He graduated from a top university but has managed to get brainwashed against his own interests. I don’t understand.”
I cut ties with a white gay friend recently. He had become a complete MAGAt, now is anti-mask and thinks Covid is a massive government hoax. He graduated from a top university but has managed to get brainwashed against his own interests. I don’t understand.
— Theresa W. Carey (@twcarey) March 3, 2021
“It’s so much more widespread than we’re acknowledging now,” Griffin replied.
It’s so much more widespread than we’re acknowledging now.
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) March 3, 2021
The stories didn’t stop there.
“Omg yes. I had dinner yesterday with my best friend and her friend came over her house and he is. I live in the DMV and they are all boaters. They believe Jan 6th was antifa and say Trump has done so much for our community. I got up and left. I came home I was so disgusted,” wrote another Twitter user.
Omg yes. I had dinner yesterday with my best friend and her friend came over her house and he is. I live in the DMV and they are all boaters. They believe Jan 6th was antifa and say Trump has done so much for our community. I got up and left. I came home I was so disgusted
— Paige Joy (@The_Paige_Life) March 3, 2021
Author Nellie Oleson added her experience:
“Ugh. Yes. Met a few. White, male, sort of semi posh, upper middle class, ‘I’ve got mine jack!, to hell with everyone else’ mentality. A lot of libertarian, Ayn Rand types.
Also, lots of left wing people are joining Q. ‘Alternative thinking’, woo-woo folks.”
Ugh. Yes. Met a few. White, male, sort of semi posh, upper middle class, "I've got mine jack!, to hell with everyone else" mentality. A lot of libertarian, Ayn Rand types.
Also, lots of left wing people are joining Q. "Alternative thinking", woo-woo folks.— Arngrim (@Arngrim) March 3, 2021
But the most illuminating response came in the form of a commenter resurfacing a thread from January. “Read this super interesting thread about exactly this type of phenomenon. (I had no idea.),” they wrote.
Here it is:
Holy shit ok so by now you've probably seen plenty of photos of the guy on the right, but believe me when I say that the story below is the guy on the left. His name is Br*an Clowd*s. Thread: pic.twitter.com/vrKqqTqrST
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
Bri*n Cl*wdus is the founder and former artistic director of Serenbe Playhouse in Atlanta, GA where my friend used to work. During his tenure, the playhouse was featured in the New York Times and TIME, listed as one of the top 20 theaters in the country in Playbill, etc.
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
Here's a link to one of the articles he is specifically mentioned in. Guy was a growing name in his field and known for absolutely batshit cool ideas, such as landing an actual helicopter in this 2016 production of Miss Saigon. https://t.co/2XFCoInxsK
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
His website bio claims, among other accolades, he was also listed as one of Atlanta's most eligible bachelors on Jezebel. I have not confirmed this because I'm not a journalist and either way that's bizarre. pic.twitter.com/0aWZQdLQlC
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
All of this changed earlier this year when an expose about him and his tenure was published via a local outlet. Sexual abuse allegations against him shortly followed thereafter. Brian was fired. Now it gets INSANE. https://t.co/vU9psWq8kN
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
That article was published July 14th. Just a little over a month later, Br*an re-tweets this from the Log Cabin Republicans in support of Donald Trump. He then goes on a re-tweeting spree of conservative media. He's been on Twitter since 2015. All his prior tweets are now gone. pic.twitter.com/KkQah3Z6No
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
One month later, he tweets this about having re-located to the state of Florida under the guise of moving to a swing state, presumably to support Republicans. Remember: he lived in Atlanta before this. In Georgia. The swing state that arguably decided the election. pic.twitter.com/b1H7tYssNp
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
Two days later, he is now a DJT volunteer. Having been cancelled two months ago, he is rebranding himself as a Trump stan in real-time. pic.twitter.com/fWJ3Gh8RwA
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
Next day, here he is with Candace Owens' new book, tags her in it. Think he might be trying to make some new friends? pic.twitter.com/guH6Kd8Ylz
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
It goes on and on for a while. He joins Log Cabin Republicans. Becomes a big Gays For Trump guy, hustles the social media game for a while. Won't bore you with the posts, go look at em if you want. He left Atlanta like FOUR MONTHS AGO.
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
Now he's going to GOP/Trump events in the front row or close to it. And then he snaps this one– the viral video of Trump dancing. 25K likes. From here on out, his likes are in the thousands. You can guess what kind of folks are smashing that like button. pic.twitter.com/jEeP0M6V4Q
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
Does the obligatory "shout out to all my followers and fans". He's growing his base. pic.twitter.com/NzdiAtQb2D
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
These two killed it. He left Atlanta TWO MONTHS AGO. pic.twitter.com/MYJ7OdLQWa
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
So he goes on. He goes to more rallies, meets Matt Gaetz, gets a Kirstie Alley RT. Dude is blowing up, fast. End of October, he even starts floating a Conservative Theater Company. He's back, baby!!!! pic.twitter.com/QmRWRi4jWH
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
Goes on and on and on. And that's how we get to Jan 4– Q Shaman is here! Two days later, Q Shaman is in the Capitol Building. My guy may have realized he overplayed his hand. See the righthand side. pic.twitter.com/jsPNgNh3Nq
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
And that's how we get to where we are today– a video about him being "cancelled for a third time" for posing with the Q Shaman, delivered to his 40.7K THOUSAND followers, majority of whom are now MAGA types. Under the banner of a photogenic, clearly professional headshot. pic.twitter.com/OeUvbESBZU
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
I have no idea whether he is legit redpilled or if, in the face of universal rejection and accountability, this is his greatest acting turn ever. But the fact that this guy full-on rebranded himself within months to be a medium-tier viral MAGA sycophant is a lot to take in.
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
No prior evidence, to my understanding, of being anything close to this while in GA. I don't really know what the moral is here, and I'm not sure he knows either. We have never met and probably never will. Hope he finds peace. Don't think he has yet. End of thread.
— die hard 6: die's hard lemonade (@robertmathisok) January 8, 2021
Whew!
Kathy asked, and clearly got her answer.
“What a thread,” she responded. “Spells it all out.”
What a thread. Spells it all out.
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) March 3, 2021
ShiningSex
QAnon people have to have mental problems. No one could believe such total bs.
It began as a joke and now morons believe the joke.
WashDrySpin
These people have NO mental illness to say so diminishes those that are mentally ill. This needs to stop and acknowledge that these people choose their poison
Creamsicle
You don’t need mental illness to be driven crazy by the modern Republican party. Just look at their behavior since 2015. It’s like the entire party is an abusive relationship and refusing to admit it, even though we can all see the fat shiner on their faces.
Even before the pandemic DJT was leaving his close out in the cold figuratively speaking (and then literally during the campaign). Even a year or more before lockdowns the Trump base was saying “he [wasn’t] hurting the right people,” because big tech was still booming while blue collar wages have barely moved. The 2017 tax bill even hurt a lot of his base who work on trucking in very real and measurable ways. Many report that their gross incomes decreased after the law was passed.
Mister P
People need a brain stimulus more than an economic stimulus.
WashDrySpin
This is very true…Many Americans are in love with their distractions
Bob
Have our schools been THIS bad? Seriously? Some of QAnon is college educated. I just don’t understand how an otherwise normal and smart person can get THIS stupid overnight..
edwardnvirginia
Oh really! That is ignorant of the true needs of poor and working class people …. who have very good brains, than you …. but no advantages economically, socially, or culturally. MANY OF WHOM fall prey to conspiracies and cons BECAUSE ‘superior’ elite snots talk down, look down, and punch down on them.
barryaksarben
SO much of it like this pukes from Atl who has moved to Florida is RACISM. White guys who think they are entitled to be wealthy. Some work some dont but they all think they have been cheated. Bunch of losers. He was run out of Georgia so he comes down to my state to screw with all new people. He looks like he has done waaay too much meth
LeBlevsez
Edwardnvirginia, your complaint doesn’t track. The majority of poor and working-class people do not support Trumpism, mob-violence, or insurrection, unless you count only white people, who comprise your “MANY OF WHOM”. And they “fall prey to conspiracies and cons” not because of “elite snots” but rather because of elitist right-wing politicians who stoke their fears and inflame their prejudices for the benefit of those self-same right-wing politicians.
You’re right about their economic disadvantages. So why do they look to the Republicans who, to a person, just voted against their interests? They look there because they have prejudices that can be inflamed. So their “very good brains” seem to have some very bad synapses.
So stop blaming vile behavior and putrid beliefs on the unkind words of your opposition.
cameronpeak
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tjack47
Did anyone go to the inauguration on March 4th? I didn’t think so. Ughh, the crap people believe. I’m beginning to think they’ve been hypnotized by the Saudi Arabian orb.
woodroad34
There was an article (which I was trying to find to attach the link) where about 5 or 6 people from California showed up and looked around trying to figure out where the inauguration was. They said that they’d keep coming back to the site at around noon each day to make sure they didn’t miss it. (and, no, they weren’t from Los Angeles, they were from one of the conservative cities in Riverside, I think).
Joseph1971
He is obviously just trying to gain publicity. I doubt he supports Trump, unless he suffers from mental illness.
woodroad34
Trump made millions off the “Stop the Steal”, which didn’t go to any effort to “stop the steal”, it went into his private coffers. I hope the IRS catches him on it for tax fraud when he doesn’t report it as income. His niece, Mary, claims this is what he’ll do to make money now…be a traveling snake-oil salesman or an evangelical like Franklin Graham or Pat Roberson.
Mack
Woodroad34 Trump has a new PAC (which is why he doesn’t want the Republican Party to use his likeness) in which he is trying to get lower income people to contribute $5, $10 or $20 to for his “possible” re-election. Out of this money he pays himself an EIGHT figure salary. What the idiots haven’t figured out is they’re paying Trump a salary to rip them off. That’s how stupid they are.
fredk3
he seems lost and appears to be an attention hound with mental issues.
Mehki
Trump wouldn’t allow MAGAts anywhere near one of his properties, even to clean the rooms and scrub the toilets. He imports Mexicans do that and imports Europeans to serve, because as he says, Americans are fat, lazy, stupid, and got no class and Europeans know how to serve the elites.
Well, he’s half right.
GayEGO
I guess even gays can catch the Trumpavirus!
AxelDC
These gay Nazis should learn about Ernest Röhm, Hitler’s close friend and head of the Sturmabteilung. He was murdered during the Night of the Long Knives by other Nazi leaders to purge out the gays.
Kangol2
Yes, and Hitler specifically ordered that Röhm be brutally murdered to take him out as a rival and show his power and dominance over the SA. Gay people who worship the Nazis seem to forget not only the Röhm story but also how Hitler and Nazis put gay men and lesbians in jail and in concentration camps (remember the pink triangle).
WashDrySpin
Many gay white men are EXTREMELY dangerous, racist and problematic…many have been as isolated as their straight counterparts when it comes to social interactions and the acquisition of wealth…they use both of these to insulate themselves from being in a diverse world
ptn2719
THIS is why I’m not planning for a post-pandemic world. There are entirely too many stupid people who won’t do one simple thing to bring COVID to an end. Things may get better, but this isn’t going to end, folks.
Personally, I think when my 3 year old niece is 90, we’ll still be living in COVIDland…
Bob
I think that over time, the virus will get smarter. Our vaccines will only work for a while. This may be the end of an evolutionary mistake that has been happening for thousands of years. We’re just dinosaur 2.0 anyway. try again..
RandomGuy
Any gay that is a Qanut or a Republican in general needs to be shunned like the traitors to gay rights that they are.
fur_hunter
I totally agree. Also, any gay that goes to or supports the intolerant and bigoted Baptist church.
Steven
Trumpism is a cult.
Cult /kelt/ a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing. “a cult of personality surrounding the leaders” synonyms: obsession with, fixation on, mania for, passion for; idolization of, admiration for, etc
Ginger Tom
I don’t see that Trumpism makes any sense to anyone who is not at heart a racist. Trump gives permission for average White Americans, and their fellow travellers, to hate those with whom they do not identify. Trumpism says, “it’s OK to bring to the surface the most deeply unpleasant side of your nature which everyone else tells you to hide, repress or otherwise overcome. You can be this person and there will be no disapproval, retribution or punishment from MAGAworld, only congratulation.”
trojanboy
Yeah, sadly, being gay dosent mean you can’t be an ass-hole.
Mack
Agree.
Prax07
Yeah these morons need to have some sort of mental illness to believe anything qanon related. You’d really have to be sick in the head because it’s all so obviously fictitious. And all the talk on the media about treating them with dignity and respect while trying to change their views. Hogwash. Tell the idiots they’re batshit crazy and to GTFO with their insane views. Time to put an end to this coddling behavior with them.
bivector
It’s such a short step from “no fats, no fems, no blacks, no Asians” to “there are Jewish space lasers.” Stop having sex with these people before they reach their final form.
ScottOnEarth
It’s simply mass brainwashing – ignoring the facts that are right in front of their faces and choosing to believe absolutely insane and illogical conspiracy theories. The fact that such a large number of Americans truly believe this insanity is frightening – gay or otherwise.
xtian2020
LGBTQ+ Trumpers/QAnon zealots are likely dominated by white cis gay men, though there are queer women, trans folks, and BIPOC among them, too. The fact is, we’re three-dimensional people & therefore just as capable of suffering from delusions as white & cishet folks are. While it shouldn’t be a surprise that there are queer folks who value whatever privilege they have more than their commitment to everyone in our community, more than their sense of self-worth or dignity as queer people -it’s still frustrating & bittersweet. Their classism, racism, misogyny, transphobia, and/or xenophobia feeds their cult-like devotion to QAnon & Trump.
Oh, well, never mind the bollocks, let’s work to make sure that their lies, distortions, delusions, and self-hate don’t result in the re-election of Trump in 2024 or any other right-wing anti-queer Republicans at the local, state, and national levels, in any election year. Vote!!!
Gary Q VV
Hey XTIAN2020 – Your comment sums up an accurate insight of this quite whirling phenomenon of these little lost Queer sheep defacing our community. We must “Fight-The-Power” before QueerAnon (a subset of QAnon focusing on a pro-Trump agenda) becomes a full-fledged ‘pandemic’ itself (it’s already spread to the UK, France, Germany, and Japan-JAnon).
——————
PS:
We Queers must always remember our golden rule which must be done step by step: “from Community Power comes Constitutional Equality, only then comes our ultimate goal of Freedom, then, over time, comes a majority of Social Acceptance”.
cuteguy
It’s no coincidence that the many who subscribe to this insanity are also religious who in general are cult driven. Ppl have to separate God (or a higher power, the universe, etc) from these cults aka religion. Religion is the foundation of what has brought us to today. Religion segregates ppl, which in turn is what helped to create the GQP
Ronbo
It’s deeper than just the right. Remember when Hillary claimed that Russians hacked the election? NSA Scientists argued that the ability to hack the DNC for that volume of data over that time was and is scientifically impossible.
Most partisan were swayed instead by 17 agencies (actually just three) who confirmed “It is our belief that Russia hacked the DNC”. “Belief” trumped scientific fact.
Question Authority, power is addicting.
Kangol2
The Russians did interfere extensively in the 2016 election. The bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee AND the Mueller Report’s Part 1 both detailed numerous contacts, some still unexplained, between the Don the Con campaign and various Russian entities. In addition to US intelligence agencies, a number of US ally intelligence agencies, including those of the Netherlands, UK, Germany, Latvia, Ukraine, etc. shared information on Russian attempts to hack or otherwise interfere in the 2016 election. There was no “Russian hoax,” just like there was no “Covid-19 hoax”; in both cases, the real story has been far worse than our sorry US media have been able to convey. Q-Anon has been a deliberate attempt to divert attention away from the corrupt monster Don the Con and his crimes, and rewrite the story so that he is a hero. Even his close association with notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died in Don the Con’s federal prison, gets erased by the Q crowd. Meanwhile, Ghislaine Maxwell admitted that yes, Epstein had tapes of Don the Con, though she claims she doesn’t know where they are. Hmmm.
BaltoSteve
Ok, take two as I await moderation that never comes. So the breakdown would be: White Dude faces real consequences for his actions. Is hurt and angry that he has been punished for what he did. Decides that it’s unfair that he should have to be held accountable. Decides to follow another White Dude with a fake tan who tells him it’s not his fault and it is the fault of {insert marginalized group here}. Decides that sounds about right and starts to believe every word that comes out of Orange dude’s mouth, as well as the negative comments about those who oppose Orange dude. Keeps going further and further down the rabbit hole until he is the token even though Orange dude is more interested in himself than helping anyone else and supporting Orange dude is against his interests as a human. Sounds a variation on a theme.
joeboyle49
WHAT I DON’T UNDERSTAND IS HOW BCAN ANY BODY FROM THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY BE FOR A PERSON WHO HAS COMPLETLY STRIPED US OF ALL OUR RIGHTS AND YET YOU STILL BACK THE HOMOPHOBIC NUT HEAD???
OhHellNo
Not surprising. The first time I heard the term “QAnon” was over a decade ago. It’s what my friend called his gay-AA group…..