Fox News’ real gay problem: Inside a festering cesspool of reflexive bigotry

[DonViejo]

Forget Shep Smith rumors. If you care about LGBTQ people and their rights, here's the real Fox News scandal

KATIE MCDONOUGH

First came the Wednesday morning story alleging that Fox News president Roger Ailes had “shoved Shepard Smith back into the closet” after the longtime network anchor had reportedly expressed an interest in coming out. Peppered with quotes from anonymous Fox insiders, Gawker reporter J.K. Trotter alleged that rampant homophobia from network executives had come to define Fox’s relationship with Smith, kept him in the closet and ultimately cost him a prime-time hosting gig.

Then came the Wednesday afternoon denial from Fox News — a joint statement from Ailes and Smith calling the report “100 percent false and a complete fabrication.” Bill Shine, another network executive named in the piece as pretty much the beating heart of Fox’s homophobia problem, also called the report “pure fiction.”

A number of people have said that Smith is gay, but he has never disclosed this information publicly. I personally don’t know, and don’t really care. I also don’t really care that Ailes and Smith are denying the allegations about entrenched homophobia at the network. Because regardless of the Smith subplot, Fox News is still pretty much a cesspool of reflexive anti-LGBTQ bigotry, and that’s what actually matters here.

The network seems to pretty much despise LGBTQ people, and reliably supports the policies and politicians that make their lives dramatically shittier. This is Fox News’ actual LGBTQ problem.

more
http://www.salon.com/2014/05/01/fox_news_real_gay_problem_inside_a_festering_cesspool_of_reflexive_bigotry/

[get the red out]

1. I like Shepherd Smith

I wish he worked for a real news network.

No way to expect anything different from hatred for all the people the Republican Party and the Tea Party hate from Fox News.