Far-right show hosts want LGBTQ+ people 'back in the closet'

Source: The Advocate

Alternate headline: Far-right show hosts want LGBTQ+ people ‘back in the closet’

Conservative talk show hosts reminisce about bullying LGBTQ+ people back into the closet

On the CrossTalk show, three far-right influencers mocked the LGBTQ+ community and reminisced about a time when bullying members was socially acceptable.

BY CHRISTOPHER WIGGINS
JANUARY 05 2024 4:31 PM EST

The far-right talk show CrossTalk has come under fire for promoting extreme anti-LGBTQ+ views in a recent episode, as highlighted by Right Wing Watch, a watchdog site that monitors conservative extremists. On the episode, hosts Edward Szall and Lauren Witzke, along with guest Vincent James, reminisced fondly about a time when discrimination against LGBTQ+ people was more acceptable.

Szall began the discussion with a statement reflecting on past attitudes toward children of gay parents. “There used to be a day and age… we beat up the kid at school who had two dads,” he said, implying that such actions were socially accepted.

James, linked with white supremacist Nick Fuentes’s America First organization, added to the discussion, recalling when people suspected of being gay would often conceal their sexuality. “Even the kids who we knew were obviously gay, awho had the lisp, pretended not to be gay ... so that they wouldn’t get bullied,” he said.

Witzke, who is currently involved in a separate legal issue over anti-LGBTQ+ comments she made, supported these views, suggesting a return to an era where LGBTQ+ individuals would hide their identities. “That’s how we kind of maintained the line. As far as behavior, I think that they need to all go back in the closet,” Witzke commented.

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Read more: https://www.advocate.com/news/crosstalk-conservative-lgbtq-closet