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Talk Show Cuts Christian, Ex-‘Gay’ Message 2/21/2002 Talk Show Cuts Christian, Ex-‘Gay’ Message Stephen Bennett, a former homosexual and Christian recording artist who runs a ministry to free people from homosexuality, saw his testimony cut from an appearance on The Ananda Lewis Show, a syndicated TV talk program that airs on WB, NBC and CBS affiliates. The program in question aired on Tuesday (February 19, 2002) in several markets. Not only was any mention of Jesus dropped from Bennett’s six-minute segment, but he charges that the show had a misleading caption on the screen while he and his wife Irene were featured. The title read: “Says he and his wife pray daily that he doesn’t revert to being gay.” This gave the impression that Mr. Bennett had told them he was still struggling with homosexuality. But Bennett, who left homosexuality behind when he accepted Jesus Christ years ago, had said during pre-interviews that he was completely healed and had no homosexual temptations. He said that neither he nor Irene told anyone on the show that he was struggling. The show centered around a man, David, who is married with three children but who thinks he is homosexual, thus putting his marriage in jeopardy. David and his wife Melissa, pregnant with their fourth child, appeared, along with an overwhelmingly homosexual or pro-homosexual list of guests, including a high school grad named Jason who said he was victim of “hate crimes.” The only pro-family guest except for Mr. Bennett was psychologist Paul Cameron, president of the Colorado-based Family Research Institute, who was interviewed for a few minutes at the end. A producer who helped book the show but did not want to be quoted told C&F Report Wednesday that the program tried to present a balanced lineup but had difficulty booking pro-family guests for the February 6 taping. Although the studio audience was largely pro-homosexual, there was a considerable Christian contingent, she noted, and they supported Bennett’s point of view. As for Bennett’s Christian testimony being cut, she said his portion had gone on for 13 minutes and that editors had to trim all segments and dropped one other segment entirely over time considerations. Bennett said Wednesday that the producers had warned him before the show not to talk about “religion,” and that he had said he wouldn’t address “religion” but would air his salvation through Christ as the central point of his story. He said he also had a problem with an edit of one of Irene’s comments. Irene had referenced Jesus moments before saying, “He did what He set out to do,” but the cutting of the name Jesus before that portion made it seem as if she was referring to Stephen. “I just can’t get over how this completely misrepresented me,” Bennett told C&F Report. He said he knew that the show’s lineup would be lopsided, but,“they completely lied about my story” by leaving out how he overcame homosexuality. During the hour-long show, nearly all the time was devoted to pro-homosexual viewpoints, including that of a male homosexual ACLU attorney, various audience members, many of whom were homosexual, a “gay” high school grad who said he was the victim of “hate crimes,” and two white lesbians who had adopted a baby boy. One young woman in the audience questioned David’s commitment to his wife and children and she asked him if he knew that he was being “selfish.” He answered that he had agonized over the situation. Bennett, who operates Connecticut-based Stephen Bennett Ministries, says the positive side is that his Web site has had “a lot of hits” since the program and that he has received numerous e-mails and faxes from outraged viewers. “The people in the studio at least got to hear the testimony that they cut from the TV show,” he said. The high school grad, Jason, said he was attacked and humiliated just for “being gay.” Lewis asked him, “Do you think it’s underestimated how many are going through identity crises and how many live in fear …because of society?” Jason agreed. Lewis also interviewed Zachery, 17, who said he was raised by two lesbians. “I don’t see why we keep on having to make separations and why everybody wants to always separate good from bad,” he said. “We’re all good people, we all want love, and I don’t see why everybody wants so much hate.” Near the end of the program, Lewis turned to a man in the audience, identified him as a doctor, and asked him to “give us the medical support [for gay parenting].” The man gave a brief summary of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recent statement on “gay parenting.” He said the AAP did not actually promote “gay parenting” but he added that there is “nothing to show” any difference for children raised in homosexual households. Lewis then gave Cameron a short, respectful hearing near the end of the program. Cameron rebutted the AAP statement by noting that the AAP study on which it was based ignored flaws in the research and left out key studies, such as a large Australian article that indicated children do best in married families, less well in unmarried households, and fare worst in homosexual households. As Cameron finished, the camera focused on Zachery, who told Cameron, “It may be true, but I feel this is a very narrow-minded study.” The remark drew enthusiastic applause. Bennett and Cameron both drew some applause for their segments as well. The producer said that many in the audience agreed with Bennett and Cameron but seemed intimidated about saying so on camera. At the end of the program, Lewis asked her TV audience for more input, saying, “If you think you should have been on the program because there were other sides that we didn’t get to, let us know.” For media interviews with Stephen, please contact: Stephen Bennett Ministries Those wishing to express their disappointment can visit the feedback form on the Ananda Lewis Show website, call The Ananda Lewis Show at: (866) 262-6323, and/or e-mail the producer, April Rouge. |
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