Dancehall Homophobe Beenie Man Calls Gays Child Molesters In Advocate ‘Apology’

Today, The Advocate posted an exclusive interview with notorious dancehall singer Beenie Man, in which he allegedly “apologizes” for song after song calling for the death of gay people. Oh, and promotes his new album.

In the intro, writer Akim Bryant discusses how Beenie (born Anthony Moses Davis) went on YouTube earlier this year to issue a mea culpa for his past bigotry:

“However, back in May 2012, Beenie Man took to YouTube posting the first-ever apology video by any dancehall artist to date, in which he said, “Let me make this clear…I have nothing against no one. I respect each and every human being regardless of which race or creed, regardless of which religious belief…regardless of which sexual preference you have including gay and lesbian people.”

Actually, that’s not an apology. It might be a change of opinion, or a clarification, but we don’t see anything about Beenie, 38, being sorry for contributing to violence perpetrated against the LGBT community.

In fact, Beenie didn’t think it was either: In follow-up interviews he said “I never apologized,” and “I told them to leave us alone, to try to understand where we are coming from.”

If you want to understand where Beenie’s coming from, take a look at some of his lyrics: In “Mi Nah Wallah”, he chants about about cutting the throats of all gay men. In another song he sings “I’m dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays.”

And we can’t stop singing “Take a bazooka and kill batty-fucker,” when we’re in the shower.

The New York Times’ Kelefa Sanneh found some real zingers:

In “That’s Right,” the infectious chorus begins, “We burn chi-chi man and then we burn sodomite and everybody bawl out, say, ‘Dat right!’”

And in “Han Up Deh,” Beenie Man cracks some jokes (“Man a save yuh from drowning is a lifeguard/ Man a watch a man batty, him a batty-guard”), then delivers an anti-gay party chant, asking listeners to raise their hands if they agree: “Hang chi-chi gal wid a long piece a rope/ Mek me see di han’ a go up, mek me see di han’ a go up.”

Beenie likes to say he’s being persecuted for songs he wrote as a wayward youth: “Do not fight against me for some song that I sing 20 years ago.” But these murderous lyrics come from tracks that were all released after 2000. (“Batty Man Fi Dead,” or “Faggots Must be Killed,” was released in 2004.)

And he’s performed many of them well into the new millennium.

Maybe Beenie spells it out in the actual Q&A? Bryant asked the Jamaican dancehall star what prompted him to do the YouTube “apology” (Bryant’s word not ours).

“…If you want people to love your music, all you have to do is respect people for who they are. So when I go to Europe now, me have 30 shows—10 of them canceled. People come out and they protest.

…The next reason is I have done a song with Janet Jackson and it being taken off the charts, video taken off MTV. Now this song with me and Nicki [Minaj]. We textin’ and everything (she says) you need to stop it and make people understand that’s not who you are right now.”

Either Beenie isn’t media-savvy or he doesn’t want to bullshit the reader—he’s making it pretty clear he’s changed his tune to stop the boycotts against him, not because he realized hatred and violence are wrong.

It only gets worse from there, folks.

When Bryant asks what kind of change Beenie has seen since talking about treating gays fairly, he replies “the shows that we used to get banned from, we are now booked.”

When he asks Beenie about the homophobia that still rages in his homeland, his response is exasperating:  “I can’t be concerned about Jamaica and small-minded and one-track, ya understand?”

Worst of all, Beenie suggests gays in Jamaica rape children—and Bryant leaves it unchallenged:

“You have place in the Caribbean where gay and lesbian is legal like Barbados and a few more places. But Jamaica is a place where it’s just bent one way because gay in Jamaica is not like it is in America. It’s mostly big men with money going down in the ghetto and turning the local youths so you call that statutory (rape) or child molestation.

They convince the youth that they are this way…and me know enough youth this way. That’s why when it comes to gay murder in Jamaica, it’s so vicious. With local youth, they can’t go back to their life that they used to know. And then [the rich men] use them and go find the next youth to use. So people need to understand that in Jamaica it’s a different lifestyle. It’s not like two men come together and say I like [to date men]. That’s not the way it is in Jamaica.

So right now until that finished and the youth stop getting kidnapped and found raped and thrown in a bush…until that stops and gays and lesbians speak out against child rapists and all of these things, then the government will see where they’re coming from.

You can’t beat up on the government when you don’t understand what the government is fighting for. They’re not fighting against [gays]. In the government in Jamaica right now, me sure you can find a few gay people. But the whole Caribbean needs support because the [rapes] have to stop.”

Instead of addressing that claim—and trying to sort out the truth from malicious myths—Bryant next asks Beenie about appearing on The RuPaul Show back in 1996. Who gives a damn about RuPaul (sorry, Ru)?!? The man just said gays in Jamaica don’t deserve equality because they’re child rapists!

Maybe Bryant and his editor just wanted to let Beenie hang himself with his words. But that’s not what comes across—not with a headline like: “Beenie Man Apologizes: The king of dancehall music is sorry for his past homophobic lyrics and says his view on LGBT equality has evolved. “

Toward the end of the interview, Bryant asks Beenie if he’d ever perform at an LGBT event. “Ya know, I just can’t answer that,” the singer replies. “When I get there, I get there, seriously.”

We’ll save you the trouble, Beenie. We don’t want you.

Read the original story at Queerty

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Beenie Man Apologizes

The 1990s introduced the U.S. and Europe to a new style of reggae music known as dancehall. It originated from Jamaica and much like the early days of hip-hop, dancehall was instantly popular, yet very controversial. Homophobic lyrics littered many chart-topping international hits by artists like Buju Banton and Beenie Man, the reigning king of dancehall. In their songs, they boasted about committing violent acts against homosexuals including murder. To this day, Jamaica is still described by many human-rights organizations as the most homophobic place on earth.

However, back in May 2012, Beenie Man took to YouTube posting the first ever apology video by any dancehall artist to date, in which he said, “Let me make this clear…I have nothing against no one. I respect each and every human being regardless of which race or creed, regardless of which religious belief…regardless of which sexual preference you have including gay and lesbian people.”

In an exclusive interview with The Advocate, Beenie Man explains how he arrived at his current view on gay rights, whether he believes Jamaica will ever be accepting of the LGBT community and how he would respond if his son grew up to be gay.

The Advocate: What prompted you to do the YouTube apology video?
Beenie Man: What really motivated me to do something like that is the love of the music and the respect for people. I’m a Jamaican, see. I’m from a place called Waterhouse so you’re dealing with all Jamaicans there. So as a youth growing up, what them say that we have to say cause children do what they learn. When you start to learn how the world run and how the world situated right now, people is people and people do what they want to do. They live their own life. And if you want people to love your music, all you have to do is respect people for who they are. So when I go to Europe now, me have 30 shows – 10 of them canceled. People come out and they protest. In a sense, they can’t come to my show and judge me for what I did 15 years ago because nobody is the same person who they was 15 years ago. The next reason is I have done a song with Janet Jackson and it being taken off the charts, video taken off MTV. Now this song with me and Nicki (Minaj). We textin’ and everything (she says) you need to stop it and make people understand that’s not who you are right now. This is who I am, and this is where I’m going, and this is where my head space is. Want to make people understand, we are dancehall music and we sing music for the people. And if we sing music for one set of people…and the next set of people not listen to the music, it don’t make sense. That mean you’re off way in the world.

You’ve got to be the voice for the people, right?
That is the reason why I did it.

What effect has it had since the video was posted?
Well, I did it for Europe and the United States and Canada, I never did it for Jamaica, but it have a (positive) effect all over the world. The shows that we used to get banned from, we are now booked. You have a place like Barcelona, which they offer government [protection] for gay people so once they ease up you realize what is going on. They wanted me to explain to them why I was singing these songs and why do I expect them to support me. So I think they got the message.

So does the negative reaction in your homeland of Jamaica concern you at all?
I live in Jamaica. I can’t be concerned about Jamaica and small-minded and one-track, ya understand? You have intelligent people in my island, people who understand everything. The reaction in the media was a good thing for dancehall music. Everybody who supposed to respond [positively], respond great so you know you not get all good response. A few man say this and a few man say that, but what a few men say is nothing to what the majority say.

Do you believe there will ever be a time when gays and lesbians will be accepted in Jamaica?
Well I don’t know that. That is not my thing. Me cannot tell you that. You would have to talk to the government cause I am not government.

So laws would have to be passed?
You have place in the Caribbean where gay and lesbian is legal like Barbados and a few more places. But Jamaica is a place where it’s just bent one way because gay in Jamaica is not like it is in America. It’s mostly big men with money going down in the ghetto and turning the local youths so you call that statutory (rape) or child molestation. They convince the youth that they are this way…and me know enough youth this way. That’s why when it comes to gay murder in Jamaica, it’s so vicious. With local youth, they can’t go back to their life that they used to know. And then (the rich men) use them and go find the next youth to use. So people need to understand that in Jamaica it’s a different lifestyle. It’s not like two men come together and say I like (to date men). That’s not the way it is in Jamaica. So right now until that finished and the youth stop getting kidnapped and found raped and thrown in a bush…until that stops and gays and lesbians speak out against child rapists and all of these things, then the government will see where they’re coming from. You can’t beat up on the government when you don’t understand what the government is fighting for. They’re not fighting against (gays). In the government in Jamaica right now, me sure you can find a few gay people. But the whole Caribbean needs support because the (rapes) have to stop.

You appeared on The RuPaul Show back in 1996. Did you receive backlash for making that appearance?
Of course, I live in Jamaica. But from then I don’t care, music is music. Promotion is promotion. TV is TV. I sing “Dancehall Queen.” RuPaul is a drag queen. Him love the song. Him invite me and Chevelle Franklin to do the show. What am I gonna say? No? Are you crazy?

One of the biggest trepidations straight people tend to have about supporting gay rights is that the public will then think he or she must also be gay.
Yeah, this is already going on because of the video I did. But, ya see, gay lifestyle is not what I am because I’m a straight man. But it’s not for me to condemn it cause every man have a right to decide their destiny. And it’s not for you to (then) condemn me. Some straight people make the same mistake some gay people make. Jamaican people are afraid of what they don’t know like every (other) people in the world.

Did it make a difference for you when President Obama spoke out in support of gay marriage?
It don’t make no difference to me because still the world go on. It definitely helped, but if the world don’t agree, what is anyone going to do? Turn a blind eye? You have to do these things or get left behind.

Now, there’s still a lot of speculation on the internet about whether you actually signed the Reggae Compassionate Act of 2007 renouncing homophobia.
Yeah, me sign it. Me sign it like seven years ago and we still getting backlash regardless of what we did. Gay people still come out and demonstrate. They printed me signature in newspaper in Jamaica. I was the first one to sign it.

Yes, it was you along with Sizzla and Capleton. Now, would you ever consider performing for an LGBT event or festival?
Ya know, I just can’t answer that. When I get there, I get there, seriously.

If the opportunity presents itself, you’ll deal with it, but until then, no comment?
No comment.

Typically when it comes to gay rights, it’s tough for heterosexual people to understand the issue unless they know someone personally who is gay. Is that what also helped you change your view?
I know a few gay people and I work with them. They keep them life to them and we work together. It’s all about work, not sitting around talking about gay issues. I know what it is. A man love a man, that’s his feelings, his heart, his passion, ya understand? Let’s say (hypothetically) I have a cousin who’s gay. I’m not gonna kill him. I’m not gonna hate him. I have to support him with a choice that he make. He have to have somebody to support him cause if the whole family turn they back against him, he end up committing suicide cause he might think he made the wrong choice. Your choice is your choice. Your decision is your decision. It’s not mine. It’s not for me to tell him that you’re wrong. But I cannot say that I have a brother or a cousin or somebody close to me [who’s gay]. I am from Waterhouse…Kingston, Jamaica. That is a serious question that you ask me, ya know? But I have been working with a lot of these people. It’s not my business. I look past it.

So how would you personally feel if your only child, your son, turned out to be gay?
Well I can’t feel no ways. He’s my son. I love him already. It’s not gonna make me hate him. All left to do is to support him and guide him through.

And of course, we can’t forget about the music. You have a new album coming soon, right? What can people expect from the new Beenie Man?
Yes, the single is out called “Summer is Here.” I have a new album coming out. It’s called King in Control. This is a dancehall reggae album. All of the hip-hop artists we’re putting on this album will be on a reggae beat…Will Smith and LL Cool J cause we’re all veterans in it so we work with the big people.

Read the original interview at the Advocate

LGBT group demands apology from George Lopez, Arizona sheriff also angry about jokes (Video)

On George Lopez’ newest special It’s Not Me, It’s You, which debuted live on HBO this past weekend, Lopez warns: “I’m gonna talk a lot of shit today.” And talk shit he did. And as a result, the veteran comedian upset some members of the LGBT community after a questionable choice of words. Also not happy post-performance is Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Lopez goes off on a two-minute tirade against Mitt Romney and Joe Arpaio, joking that Romney is Latino but won’t admit it. “If you want our vote, puto,” says Lopez, “come out of the closet!”

Jimmy LaSalvia, the co-founder and executive of a conservative LGBT group called GOProud (who endorses Romney), spoke out against Lopez and his use of the word “puto,” which literally means “male prostitute” but also carries homophobic connotations. GoProud’s stance is that homophobia is often overlooked when it comes from the left. LaSalvia and the GoProud group is calling for a public apology from Lopez.

LaSalvia tells Laughspin, “It’s just another in a long line of examples of when liberals can use homophobic slurs and not face any consequences.” LaSalvia alluded to the recent controversy surrounding sex columnist Dan Savage, who called the group “House faggots” after they announced their endorsement of Romney.

So here’s what prompted Arpaio — the Department of Justice is currently suing him for alleged discrimination against Latinos — to say this morning, “Get some guts. And come down here, and meet me face to face.”

“Fuck you, you fucking puto. How about that? Fuck you. You fat motherfucker. Fuck you. I said I was going to talk some shit. Fuck you Sheriff Joe you fucking puto. Fuck you. Fuck you.”

You can see clips of Lopez’ material and Arpaio’s response included with the original story at LaughSpin.

It’s pretty clear Arpaio loves the attention. He’s already tweeted about Lopez three times — “Go back to school. Learn to make intelligent commentary rather than dropping F bombs for a laugh,” he said in one — and even uploaded a clip from the HBO special on his own YouTube channel!

What do you think? Was Lopez’ choice of words a big deal? We expect that our readers probably share our feelings – that Lopez’ material is not worthy of the controversy, and that he should not have to apologize (and we’re sick of comedians being asked to apologize for their material, in general) – but feel free to let us know what you think in the comments section!

Written by Lucas Gardner

Read the original story at LaughSpin,

Salvation Army Australia official says LGBT people must die

Organization apologizes for ‘miscommunication’

Just hours after the LGBT advocacy group “Truth Wins Out” published an interview in which a senior Salvation Army official in Australia said the belief that gays must die is part of the Salvation Army’s “Christian doctrine,” the organization on Saturday issued an apology to the LGBT community.

Major Andrew Craibe, Territorial Media Relations Director for the Southern Territory in Victoria, made the incendiary comments in an interview with LGBT journalists Serena Ryan and Pete Dillon for the Australian radio show “Salt and Pepper.”

Major Andrew Craibe

Ryan noted that the Salvation Army handbook cites Romans 1:18-32, a passage claiming that “God’s decree” is that homosexuals deserve death, and asked Craibe if the Salvation Army took that passage literally. Craibe replied in the affirmative, and continued to do so throughout the interview.

RYAN: . . . that says, according to the Salvation Army, that [they] deserve death. How do you respond to that, as part of your doctrine?

CRAIBE: Well, that’s a part of our belief system.

RYAN (cutting in): So we should die.

CRAIBE: You know, we have an alignment to the Scriptures, but that’s our belief.

RYAN: Wow. So we should die.

 

Recording of interview at Truth Wins Out →

 

In response, Major Bruce Harmer, Salvation Army Communications and Public Relations Secretary for the Eastern Territory, issued a statement and said that Craibe’s responses to Ryan and Dillon were a “miscommunication” that resulted in a misrepresentation of the group’s official teaching.

The statement read, in part:

“The Salvation Army sincerely apologizes to all members of the GLBT community and to all our clients, employees, volunteers and those who are part of our faith communities for the offense caused by this miscommunication.”

Harmer added that the Salvation Army is committed to building “a more healthy relationship with the GLBT community.”

“The Salvation Army was wise to distance itself from Major Craibe’s disturbing remarks and apologize promptly for them,” said John Becker, Director of Communications for Truth Wins Out.

“However, it’s clear from Major Harmer’s statement that the group still believes ‘homosexual behavior’ is sinful. The Salvation Army and the LGBT community cannot possibly have a healthy relationship while these offensive beliefs remain in place,” said Becker.

“In Major Harmer’s statement, the Salvation Army promises to treat each person with dignity, respect, and non-discrimination,’” added Wayne Besen, TWO’s Executive Director. “But this pledge means very little unless it is accompanied by a reversal of the Salvation Army’s discriminatory, anti-gay teachings.”

Since 1986, The Salvation Army has taken an active role in at least five major assaults on LGBT equality.

Dr. Robert Spitzer Retracts ‘Ex-Gay’ Study and Apologizes to the LGBT Community

Thanks to Wayne Besen and Truth Wins Out for this video.

In 1973, Dr. Robert Spitzer led the charge to successfully have homosexuality removed from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), which is its list of mental disorders. This was a major victory and remains one the gay movement’s signature achievements.

Given his stature and key role in declassifying gay people as sick, it was quite a surprise when Dr. Spitzer published a non-peer reviewed 2001 study in the Archives of Sexual Behavior that claimed some “highly motivated” gay people could reach their “heterosexual potential” through prayer and therapy. When he announced his work at the 2001 APA meeting in New Orleans, it created a media sensation. An Associated Press story called his findings “explosive.”

In 2012, Dr. Spitzer recanted in the American Prospect magazine and in a letter to the Archives of Sexual Behavior, obtained by Truth Wins Out, Dr. Spitzer asked that his study be withdrawn. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Showand the New York Times covered his apology.

Last week, TWO’s Wayne Besen and filmmaker Lisa Darden interviewed Dr. Spitzer at his Princeton, NJ home. This exclusive interview is the first time Spitzer has been videotaped speaking in-depth about his change of heart.

“This is an historic moment and it was crucial that we recorded it for posterity,” said Truth Wins Out’s Wayne Besen. “It was also critical that we had Dr. Spitzer directly confront anti-gay organizations by name to make it difficult for them to distort his study without undermining their credibility.”

Here are excerpts from Wayne Besen and Lisa Darden’s interview with Dr. Robert Spitzer:

What do you have to say about the conclusions of your 2001 study?

“I was quite wrong in the conclusions that I made from this study. The study does not provide evidence, really, that gays can change. And that’s quite an admission on my part.”

What made you go public with your change of heart?

“If I really have all these doubts about the study, I had to face up to whether I had a responsibility to acknowledge that.”

Is there a message you would like to impart to the LGBT community?

“I’ve been thinking about the study for many years. I felt that I needed to say that, the study is not valid, but I thought I should also say to the gay community, I apologize for any harm I have done to them because of the study and my initial interpretation. And I certainly apologize to any gay person who because of this study entered into reparative therapy and wasted their time and energy doing that.”

It took you two years to find a mere 200 study subjects, even though NARTH’s Dr. Joseph Nicolosi was trying to influence the study by begging clients to participate. Why do you think it was so difficult for NARTH to provide you with “ex-gays”?

“He [Nicolosi] just didn’t have many patients who could really claim that they had changed.”

Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) is still misusing your study and a video featuring you remains prominently placed on the group’s website. Would you like to address PFOX?

“I ask that PFOX stop showing this video. This is quite misleading. I had no way, really, of knowing when I examined any particular subject whether they really had changed or whether they were deceiving themselves or even outright lying when they claimed that they had changed. So, please don’t show this to anyone.”

The retraction of your study must be very upsetting to anti-gay organizations.

“I’m curious as to whether they have said anything or how they live with the fact that the one study that they have always been citing has now been taken away from them. I would think that’s a pretty rough place to be in.”

Is the “Ex-Gay” Industry capable of unbiased research on homosexuality?

“The people who are pushing the ‘ex-gay’ idea are so full of hatred for homosexuality, really, that I don’t think they can respond in an ethical way.”

What are your thoughts on sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE)?

“If people can recognize that being a homosexual is something that cannot be changed and that efforts to change are going to be disappointing and can be harmful, if that can be more widely known that would be very good. If somebody is troubled that they are homosexual, what they ought to do is face up to that and so something so they are more comfortable living with the way they are, because any attempt to change is misguided.”

Background:

Truth Wins Out (Analysis of Spitzer apology)

Dan Gonzales (Dissecting the Spitzer study)

View original post at Truth Wins Out

Leading Psychiatrist Apologizes for Study Supporting Gay ‘Cure’

Dr. Robert L. Spitzer

PRINCETON, N.J. — The simple fact was that he had done something wrong, and at the end of a long and revolutionary career it didn’t matter how often he’d been right, how powerful he once was, or what it would mean for his legacy.

Dr. Robert L. Spitzer, considered by some to be the father of modern psychiatry, who turns 80 next week, lay awake at 4 o’clock on a recent morning knowing he had to do the one thing that comes least naturally to him.

He pushed himself up and staggered into the dark. His desk seemed impossibly far away; Dr. Spitzer suffers from Parkinson’s disease and has trouble walking, sitting, even holding his head upright.

The word he sometimes uses to describe these limitations — pathetic — is the same one that for decades he wielded like an ax to strike down dumb ideas, empty theorizing, and junk studies.

Now here he was at his computer, ready to recant a study he had done himself, a poorly conceived 2003 investigation that supported the use of so-called reparative therapy to “cure” homosexuality for people strongly motivated to change.

Read the entire article at NYTimes.com