Source: Theo Wargo / Getty
Man, Wendy Williams keeps putting her foot in her mouth.
First, it was right after the Superbowl when she got on her show and basically told Beyonce, JAY-Z and little Blue Ivy that they were disrespecting America for not standing for the National Anthem and now she’s come for her fanbase: the LGBTQ community, specifically gay men.
See, on last Friday’s show (Feb. 13), the iconic talk show diva went on a strange homophobic and transphobic rant when discussing Valentine’s Day and Galentine’s Day, a day where girlfriends celebrate one another before Valentine’s Day.
When she saw men in the audience clapping, she, in turn, clapped back.
“If you’re a man and you’re clapping, you’re not even a part of this. I don’t care if you’re gay. You don’t [menstruate] every 28 days. You can do a lot that we do, but I get offended by the idea that we go through something you will never go through…Stop wearing our skirts and our heels. You’ll never be the woman that we are, no matter how gay!” Williams said during the segment.
Huh?
https://twitter.com/MZJUCII/status/1227990417423175681?s=20
Not surprisingly, folks flocked to Twitter to express their frustration and anger with Williams’ offbeat and hateful comments.
https://twitter.com/TheRealNVX/status/1228364120317190150?s=20
After the news hit about the swift and persistent backlash, on Friday (14), Williams issued a tearful response, apologizing for her comments.
“I deeply apologize,” Williams said in a video shared to social media.
“I did not mean to offend my LGBTQ+ community on yesterday’s show. I did not realize until I got home and watched the second running of our show…And one thing I can tell you right now is that I never do the show in a place of malice. I understand my platform in the community.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt anybody’s feelings. I’m just having a conversation. I’m 55-years-old and maybe I sounded…somebody out of touch,” Williams continued.
“I’m not out of touch except for perhaps yesterday for saying what I said. So, I deeply apologize and I deeply appreciate the support that I get from the community. I will do better. I appreciate you supporting me. Thank you.”
Listen, being 55-years-old is not always an excuse to say things like this.
Wendy has spent YEARS in this industry constantly surrounded by the LGBTQ community, mostly Black gay men who either work with her or for her. She lives in one of the most LGBTQ-friendly cities in the world and is very well versed in the culture and supports multiple LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS organizations. Most likely, she has spent PLENTY of time around gay men in heels and probably told them how fabulous they looked.
So despite this apology, she knows better. What’s really the tea?
I’ve said this before and I will say it again: Why are folks so pressed about what other people are wearing? No shade to Williams, but with everything going on in her own life and with everything that is going in the world, the last thing she needs to be up in arms about is what gay men are rocking.
Sadly, this type of homophobia isn’t new or rare. We’ve seen it with rapper Pastor Troy who was upset that Lil Nas X wore pink at the Grammys (God forbid!), we see this every time Billy Porter wears a dress or something feminine on the red carpet and we continue to see this with Zaya Wade for either coming out as a trans girl and wearing nails.
The idea that that Black queer folks want to embrace their feminity, whether with their fashion and/or mannerisms, is a problem or some conspiracy to rob straight cisgender Black men of their masculinity or women of their feminity is delusional and quite dangerous. That, and it’s tired.
Let people live (and live their most authentic lives) without all this unnecessary judgment and projection. Because for folks like Wendy, how is what the LGBTQ doing and wearing directly impacting your lives?
Oh right, it’s not.
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If Gay Men Want To Wear Skirts And Heels, Wendy Why Do You Care? was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
