No Marvel scriptwriter could’ve given Chris Pratt the power to escape the volcano of lousy press that erupted from his religious ties to an infamously anti-LGBTQ Christian church.
Despite his best effort, Pratt has failed to put the issue to rest, and social media hasn’t stumbled to disparage his career with memes and reminders of the homophobic accusations against him.
Gay Court’s in order, and we’re calling on you for the jury. Let’s review the facts and gossip circulating online against the actor.
Let’s start with a little background
Pratt’s saturated presence at the box office is met with the wrath of the real-world guardians of the galaxy, social media users quick to remind him about his questionable affiliations.
This scandal feels older than Janice Dickinson’s modeling career, and Pratt has begged the public to get over it and like him again. But in case you’re not familiar, here is the annotated drama:
- Inaccurate rumor: People posted on social media that the actor belonged to the Hillsong Church, which is wrong. He belongs to Zoe Church, but his church was founded on Hillsong principles, most alarmingly, a history of gay conversion therapy.
- Limited evidence: Chris Pratt hasn’t publicly said anything against the LGBTQ+ community, but he is accused of rubbing shoulders with notable homophobes.
- Pratt’s defense: The Super Mario Bros. Movie actor says he’s too woke to be religious.
What are the rumors surrounding Chris Pratt’s alleged homophobia?
We’re calling witnesses to the stand!
The Elliot Page Incident
In February 2019, Queerty reported on Elliot Page accusing Pratt of having homophobic religious ties on Twitter.
Social media users filled in the blank because Page didn’t mention the church, but the tweet lives on today, so he didn’t take back the accusation.
Pratt responded on Instagram that his church “opens their doors to absolutely everyone.”
Page doubled down on Pratt’s homophobic association
If you are a famous actor and you belong to an organization that hates a certain group of people, don’t be surprised if someone simply wonders why it’s not addressed. Being anti LGBTQ is wrong, there aren’t two sides. The damage it causes is severe. Full stop. Sending love to all
— Elliot Page (@TheElliotPage) February 9, 2019
Without addressing Pratt by name, Page tweeted he only suggested the Hollywood actor belonged to an anti-gay organization and serving as a famous bystander of hate. He didn’t accuse Pratt of doing anything homophobic.
Zoe Church founder and pastor Chad Veach’s dirty laundry
Chad Veach, pastor and founder of Zoe Church, executive produced a 2017 film that equated “sexual brokenness” with same-sex attraction.
Veach told New York Times he founded Zoe Church in 2015, inspired by his former Hillsong Church, an evangelical mega power riddled with bigotry.
Pratt is kind of a Christian wet blanket, but is he evil?
We questioned Pratt’s politics when he supported a conservative billionaire posing as a “Democrat” for L.A. mayor and followed a bunch of right-wing extremists, hate groups, and other homophobes on social media. But can the actor overlook homophobia without condoning it?
Examining the evidence
Pratt has gone out of his way to clarify that he supports people loving who they want, sometimes through biblical anecdotes. Unfortunately, it’s like a murderer using the murder weapon as his defense.
Page’s point all along. His tolerance of homophobia is his wrongdoing.
The actor distanced himself from the Hillsong controversy in a 2022 Men’s Health interview, his publicist instructing him to plead Mariah: I don’t know her! The Internet wasn’t buying his new take on the oppressive nature of religion or his disassociation from Hillsong.
Ultimately, Pratt’s attempt at branding himself as not religious had the same success as if the Cookie Monster said he didn’t like baked goods.
His most creative effort to clear his name of homophobia was probably calling Timothée Chalamet America’s tastiest snack.
Social media reactions to reports of his alleged homophobia
Pratt had some celebrity co-star power in defense of his character.
Mark Ruffalo weighed in
Robert Downey Jr. did, too
Even Zoe Saldana showed support
So…is Chris Pratt homophobic?
We can’t honestly know what is in Chris Pratt’s or any celebrity’s heart, and because of that, we’re typically inclined to believe what they say.
However, we also know to be careful in the presence of shady. So at best, Pratt is guilty of not being angered by homophobia.
Pratt can pray to a pastor that condemns homosexuality because it doesn’t impact him. But, like many celebrities, he might feel mingling with leaders preaching hate is not the same as supporting their actions. For this reason, the actor can’t land a role without the queer community rolling their eyes.
But he is hardly the first famous person to join an organization that hates gay people. Thankfully, brave queer A-listers like Page will keep calling them out when they see it.
Stay ahead of queer scandals and subscribe to the Queerty newsletter for the latest LGBTQ+ entertainment news.
Bromancer7
Judge people by their words, actions, and deeds, not by their associations. Until he says or does something anti-LGBTQA+ he’s OK in my book.
Prax07
I look at Pratt like this. Can someone be part of an organization, for example, the Nazi party, go to weekly events hosted by that party. Give money to that party. Support other members of that party. Like and upvote things said by that party. And not be a Nazi themselves?
Pratt is not a great guy, period.
DuMaurier
I don’t see how you can attend Nazi meetings, donate to them, etc, without sympathizing with their beliefs.
Can someone affiliate with a church that teaches that homosexuality is a “sin” without being a hateful homophobe? Well, Biden does, and he’s a pretty good ally.
At any rate, I almost entirely view religion as a private matter, and pretty much only care about someone’s position on public issues such as equal treatment under the law, discrimination, yada yada.
abfab
…..religion as a private matter. If only. It would be WONDERFUL!
dbmcvey
I get why the church is concerning, but to my knowledge Pratt hasn’t said or done anything to be censured about.
WillParkinson
Not a fan of his, but unpacking rumors doesn’t prove a thing. Yes, the church stuff is concerning, but I won’t judge him based on ‘some people say’.
Louis
There simply is enough (from this article; I’ve never looked at stuff re: Pratt and homophobia outside this site) to say he is or isn’t.
People listened to and attended concerts of Michael Jackson despite the accusations against him; it didn’t mean they condoned the allegations.
People listen to and attend concerts if The Chicks; it doesn’t mean they condone anti-Iraq theories.
Plenty of people follow religions which, conventionally, consider homosexuality to be wrong/sinful (my friend is a Christian who attends church) but it doesn’t mean they condone the anti-gay rhetoric of religions (eg my friend is a musician so has always had friends in the theatre industry include LGBTQ+ folk).
So I think simply saying he’s a member of a church which is anti LGBTQ+ isn’t enough to conclude that he is homophobic.
Likewise, him not speaking out against homophobia doesn’t make him homophobic. I think if Carrie Underwood, another devout Christian, who to my knowledge doesn’t discuss such matters probably because if she came out in support of LGBTQ+ people her homophobic Christian fans would abandon her, and if she came out anti-LGBTQ, those fans would abandon her. It’s “safer” for her (and possibly Chris) to just stay silent and accept whatever legal statuses there are.
That said, if he is following MANY people with homophobic belief, it makes it more likely he shares the same opinions. After all, owning Mein Kampfe doesn’t make one a Nazi but combine that with posters of swastikas, and memberships to neo-Nazi organisations, and it becomes difficult to argue that one does not hold nazi views.
abfab
Yes.
Owning Mein Kamph and keeping it at the top of your book stack is rascist. Those who own and display it want it seen. And then there are those who own it, but keep it in hiding. Scholars keep it, and we get why.
MK by Hitler is usually placed along side the Bible and The Art Of The Deal. At least for now.
johncp56
No matter how his team spins it, bad religions are just that, poor judgments of others
Chrisk
Pratt is a cash cow for Hollywood and being openly homophobic would kill that instantly. He’s got to walk a tight rope for the time being. Later on when he’s become a has-been then you’ll see a more honest Pratt.
dbmcvey
You can decide whether you want to support him or not but as a community it would be ridiculous to try to punish him for things he hasn’t done.
PoetDaddy
So why had he never left his homophobic church or condemned his homophobic pastor. Not good enough. No Chris Pratt for me. Seriously. And, I’m pretty sure he great defenders, like Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana and Robert Downey Jr. are all, what do you call ’em? Oh, yeah, STRAIGHT people.
Louis
Whilst the “his defenders are straight” argument might make sense for Mark and Robert, I think with Zoe being a member of a minority and marginalised community herself, it’s entirely plausible that she’d only defend him if she hadn’t witnessed any homophobia. If she had, I think it wouldn’t be too unreasonable to assume she’d just have stayed silent on the matter. In my experience, minorities don’t endorse those who bash other minorities (even if they disagree with the other minority); they just say nothing.
abfab
Mark, Robert, etc, might very well be hets, but they ain’t straight. There’s a difference.
tubgirltimemachine
Why didn’t Elliot Page call out Colbert for being openly Catholic when it’s common knowledge they are anti-LGBT, colonizers, and child molesters? While I don’t hate Page for applying pressure on Pratt, it does seem a little inconsistent the way people criticize him on the basis of religion. In my experience, people typically don’t change churches that easily either.
I’d be more concerned with the conservatives he follows on social media.
dre23222
To be honest, he is just not a good actor anymore. He’s corny. Plus the rumors didn’t help
Ken A.
How about this; if he never said anything “homophobic” or acted in anyway negative towards gay people then maybe–drum roll–he isn’t. Instead of presuming that he is homophobic without facts is just speculation which leads to imaginary victimhood. Stop playing victim and talk to him. Set up an interview with him and ask. Affirm yourselves, looking for outside affirmation is only going to leave you wanting. Its more empowering. We are losing allies which is very sad.
mrcynical
Most people don’t have a team of PR people training him before each meet and greet. Just look at the people he follows on twitter to see what his beliefs are that he has been trained to try and keep private, while still funnelling them money
rickster58761
Unfortunately, I have family and friends who are LGBTQ+ allies who attend and support churches/denominations that are extreme homophobic. These individuals have my back all the time. While I’m not a fan of Pratt as an actor, I can’t label him a Gay-hater solely on his associations.
abfab
That’s twsted and in this case, pitiful. Your family and friends need counseling.
monty clift
Page has become insufferable and tiresome. A lot of her comments come across as projection.
hwgusn
Stop misgendering trans people.
WillParkinson
Your attitude is also insufferable and tiresome. Elliot Page has stated who HE is. Respect that.
HiKo73
Monty – bad actor, bad take.
monty clift
@WillParkinson, @hwgusn, lol, Cry more. Nobody is buying this pronoun nonsense.
abfab
Nobody! That’s right! Nobody. Stop it Monty….and change your PROPER NOUN asap.
JTinToronto
Why doesn’t he just flip to another church that won’t kill his career? He’s already switched once, so just switch again. Find one that follows a similar god concept but doesn’t hate anyone and patronize that one.
HiKo73
Exactly, it’s not hard to do, so why hasn’t he? It makes ya wonder.
London_resistance
Strange how the kiddies in Queerty Towers are suddenly so concerned about homophobia, when they endlessly promote the homophobic trans gender woo-woo.
abfab
You should be in bed now. Sleep well.
inbama
@London_resistance,
Survivors of right-wing conversion therapy at least came out of it with their genitals intact.
Not so with WPATH quackery.
dbmcvey
And inbama loses the narrative again.
monty clift
@London_resistance, Right. When they start calling out trans homophobia maybe then I’ll start to take them seriously. The Ts and their chasers are some of the most revolting homophobes.
chrispy33
Pratt basically got his start and became famous on Parks and Recreation, one of the most gay and gay friendly shows on TV at the time. So, I can’t understand why he would be, if he is.
Jon in Canada
As the adage goes, you are the company you keep and the fact of the matter is Pratt keeps some very dubious company on matters LGBTQ.
abfab
For a nobody he sure is getting lots of print. Like the GOP TROLLs who refuse to go away. Annoying muthers.
Openminded
“Pratt can pray to a pastor that condemns homosexuality because it doesn’t impact him.”
Queerty, please show proof that Pratt “prays TO” a pastor. That is a very disturbing statement for someone to make while attempting to present a story that is non-biased. Your final paragraph pretty much shows that you believe him to be guilty although there is no real proof. This community doesn’t like it when people stereotype and make unfounded accusations such as “the drag queens are trying to groom kids”, etc. This is much the same action, but as always, it’s o.k. when it’s us throwing stones at them. I suggest attacking the known and proven enemies instead of wasting energies on the “maybes”.
Texasholdem
What about his joking insult towards Jennifer Lawrence about her having a dick? I get they were having a put down contest but why is a woman having a penis considered to be a punchline anymore. It says a lot of how he views trans/enby people.
HiKo73
Hmmm, methinks you are reading too deeply into that “put down”.
I took it he meant it as she’s a strong woman, obvs a bit sexist and old school, but not on how he “views trans/enby people”.
Fahd
Now Queerty is looking to increase comments by finding some wedge issues? I suspect that Graham fellow is behind this.
The reader is asked to thumb up/down this actor whose career has jumped the shark and who’s married to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s daughter and who belongs to a mega church with a Hilsong adjacent pastor? As Biden would say, “Come on, man…”
If you really want to go there, I suggest some investigative journalism (review his social media activity, ask him how he’d feel if his child turned out to be gay or trans, for example) and then take a position – still not that interesting, in my opinion.
Prax07
I don’t get the whole “My X are members of a hateful religion that hates me, but X are cool and supportive of me so it’s cool” insanity. You know that sounds insane right? That’s literally hypocrisy. If they were really cool with you they wouldn’t be a party to supporting that hateful group they’re a part of.
If Pratt was any sort of ally, which he isn’t, he wouldn’t belong to a hateful organization, which he is. To defend that makes absolutely no sense. He’s a member of a hate church, but he publicly hasn’t said Die Homos, so he’s cool? That’s moronic.
tubgirltimemachine
Colbert is a proud member of the Catholic Church (as are many celebrities). I’m all for going after them on the same basis of having hateful and harmful beliefs and actions. Why do people see that as different?
mateo
I don’t really care one way or the other. Back when he was a kind of schlubby guy on “Parks and Recreation” I thought he was funny in a dorky way. Then he slimmed down and ever since then I lost interest in him. It’s not that I don’t appreciate a beautiful twink. It’s just that this guy seemed to have lost whatever talent he had, when he lost those pounds. When I saw the preview for the first installment of “Guardians of the Galaxy” I honestly thought it was a Star Wars parody. I didn’t find out until later that they were taking themselves seriously.
LegionKeign
Anyone who follows an organized religion is sus. PERIOD.
Fundamentally you accept and agree with that religions tenents. Followers, such as pratt, will say they don’t agree with the GLBTQ+ hate their religious organizations promote but that is simply because they, 1. don’t want to lose their livelihood, 2. are cowards and lack the courage of their convictions.
Also it’s ever so convenient when religious folks pick and choose what parts of their religions they choose to follow.
Religious folks are hypocrites and cannot be trusted.
Look at how many folks have been tortured and how many children raped by the christian/catholic pedo ring in just this country and yet folks still follow those religions and attend the very churches where this shit occurred.
I guess they don’t care that their tithes go to pay for those lawyers to defend the churches and shift those priests around.
So pratt gets a thumbs-up from his CO-STARS and that’s supposed to mean something. NAW, no it don’t.
HiKo73
Preach!
Jim
Has Pratt ever said anything in support of the gay community ?
HiKo73
Right? THAT’S what I wanna know.
GrantS
We all worry about evangelicals when the Catholic Church’s official teaching is about as homophobic as it gets. All Catholics are thus guilty by association if they continue to attend mass, etc. and affiliate. Do those who belong to a religious organization get to choose which of its beliefs to accept? If so, at what point are we no longer really a member then but simply a hypocrite? I honestly don’t know.
scrambler
Let’s be clear: religion has been weaponized. It is being used by ignorant people in order to express their bigotry, intolerant, and backward ideas. So, if someone joins a religious organization, fully aware of that group’s ideology, then that says it all. This guy is rotten to the core.
abfab
Truth.
HiKo73
Yep! Agreed 100%.
tubgirltimemachine
People know the Catholic Church covers up child rape and is also anti-LGBT. Saying religion is weaponized is like saying AR-15s are weaponized.
bodie425
Firstly, I have to say nothing about Chris Pratt’s demeanor gives off a homophobic or transphobic vibe. Valuable, well-known LGBTQ allies like Mark Ruffalo, et al. who are very close to him speak highly of his character; that means something to me.
IMHO: Until he says something homophobic/transphobic out loud and in a mean-spirited way, I’m going to give him grace. I’ve been out of the closet (gay and atheist) for 30+ years and still struggle with homophobic thoughts and ideas; transphobic is even harder for me to adjust to but I continue to work on it. There are certainly vile people openly spewing hatred and encouraging harm towards LGBTQ people and they deserve our opprobrium. But many others, though still members of religious or secular bigoted organizations, openly support and care about us. One way to definitely alienate and discourage those in the later group is to be mean-spirited and dismissive. Leave the purity-testing to christians, republicans, and conservatives.