Posted by Hemant Mehta in He’ll have a rough few months, but you have to be proud of him for coming out:
Azariah Southworth, Nashville host and producer of popular Christian youth show The Remix, has come out as gay, Out & About newspaper reported Wednesday.
“I know this will end my career in Christian television, but I must now live my life openly and honestly with everyone,” Southworth said in the article. On his weekly half-hour show, Southworth is seen spending time with a Christian musician or band to see what they like, where they go, and how they live. For the past year and a half, it has been in syndication and reaches a total of approximately 200,000 viewers. Southworth has also been featured in various Christian media.
“We all know there are so many other gay people in the Christian industry; they’re all just scared,” he said. “I was scared, but now I’m no longer afraid.”
I’ve never heard of the guy, but it’s sad that his Christian TV host career will have to end because of this.
That’s what he gets for being honest.
That’s the lesson Christian TV teaches: You better fall lockstep in line with us or we want nothing to do with you.
Here’s an excerpt from a recent interview with Nathan Exposed:
Nathan: What is the current status of The Remix? [Southworth's show.] Has it been canceled, and/or do the networks even know you came out yet?
Azariah: I do know that as of today (Thursday) the second day of all the chaos, one network has taken The Remix off the air. I have not heard from the other two networks. I do know they are soon to follow.
Nathan: Is the show something you’d want to fight for? If you love it and it’s your passion, would you be curious to see if you can stand up and insist that the show go on, since you are the producer?
Azariah: I know these people, and this crowd. It’s the whole Pat Robertson and TBN crowd. There is no way in this lifetime they will allow a openly gay person on their networks. I wouldn’t fight for it because I know the fight would be in vain. I’m hoping that secular networks will come forth and be interested in picking it up. It really is a great show concept and very fast paced and I still own the rights to it! I know it would do great on something like MTV, FUSE, LOGO, etc.
Maybe the viewers of his show could start a protest or somet — Oh wait… never mind.
(Thanks to grazatt for the link!)
[tags]atheist, atheism[/tags]
I know these people, and this crowd. It’s the whole Pat Robertson and TBN crowd. There is no way in this lifetime they will allow a openly gay person on their networks.
I’m assuming that he has known that he is gay for a while now, but yet he still kept it a secret in order to work for a group that is openly anti-gay? I know everyone needs to make a living, but maybe he should have thought about trying to find another job before he came out?
I commend him for his honesty. He’ll be out of his job because his lifestyle isn’t consistent with the beliefs of the organization; that doesn’t make him a victim. He knew their views when he took the job in the first place. In those situations, the right thing to do is man up and take the consequences.
Bruce: I’m betting he actually believed in the teachings of Jesus, who (to the best of my not-going-to-church-since-1987 knowledge) never talked of homosexuality.
Good on him for having finally gotten up the courage. There are those who will call it his choice. Right. Like he got up one day and thought “yeah, I’ve got a good job at a popular tv show. I think I’ll give it all up to be ostracized with 2% of the population. If I’m lucky, I may even be denied housing or even beaten up!”
There are plenty of gay people cowering in the pews of fundy churches, too - I’m certain of it. Maybe with more high-profile role models like this guy they will find the courage to be honest also.
Kudos to him!
I think that guy is one brave dude. I’ve never had to face any kind of public “coming out” situation like that (let alone one that I knew would kill my career), and I hope I never have to.
~David D.G.
I think it is very sad that this will likely mean the end of his career in Christian television.
Not all Christians believe homosexuality is wrong. Kudos to him for coming out. You never know; maybe this will be just the kind of thing his career needs.
I’m sure that a significant portion of his viewers have already abandoned him based solely on that announcement. There’s probably going to be a quote from Rapture Ready on FSTDT about this, too. Well, as pessimistic as I can be about this, this is still a good thing over all.
Being fired from your job because you’ve come out as gay? How can that be tolerated? Aren’t there any anti-discrimination laws?
What good is it to gain the whole world but then lose your soul in hell? Being a Christian simply means you have chosen God’s way over sin’s way. You can’t walk both paths. People go to hell because they choose to. God never forces anyone to love Him. If A wants homosexuality over a walk and life with Christ, that’s his choice. As for me, I’m following Jesus.