Oprah Winfrey Celebrates Anti-Gay Pastor John Gray with New TV Show

By Kelly Frazier --
21 Apr 2017 --

“Oprah Winfrey” by Alan Light is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Anti-gay rights pastor showcased in new Oprah Winfrey Network TV series The Book of John Gray.

Oprah Winfrey may be on her way to earning the anger and ire of the gay community and of pro-gay rights Americans.[/tweetit] The famous TV figure has approved an 8-episode series by John Gray called The Book of John Gray on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Oprah Winfrey Celebrates Anti-Gay Pastor John Gray with New TV Show[/tweetthis]

The show premiered over the weekend and has been described variously as a comedy, a drama, and a documentary. It has also been described as a show that showcases the “uniquely humorous” way in which Pastor John Gray helps people. However, John Gray is a sworn enemy of gay rights, and his show on the Oprah Winfrey Network has created ripples of anger in her gay and pro-gay rights fans.

John Gray, an associate pastor at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church, has been open about his anti-gay views. The Houston-based Pastor has often tweeted about his views, saying that being gay was no less a crime than fornication, adultery, saying lies or any other sin. Winfrey, who has been otherwise viewed as a progressive, accepting woman, may fall out of favor with pro-gay rights campaigners. Accusations are being raised that Winfrey’s choice to give space to the homophobic Pastor on her network may be rooted in her own faith as a practicing Christian.

@Oprah John Gray???? Really, Oprah. Why?
— Jeff Davis (@Jeffrey94464829) April 21, 2017

The two personalities have clashing views on homosexuality. While Winfrey has hosted LGBT people on her show, inviting them for interviews, Gray has unashamedly attacked the LGBT community. In 2012, he attacked gay judge Tonya Parker for announcing that she will not conduct any weddings unless gay weddings get legalized in Texas. He passed a sarcastic comment on this announcement saying that if a straight Christian judge had announced to do the opposite, they would have been fired. In contrast, Winfrey had interviewed Ellen DeGeneres on why she came out as a lesbian back in 1997.

Pastor John Gray at @oprah #supersoulsessions 4/6/17 @EnzosDad pic.twitter.com/PSvlZeyvub
— Mari Hill (@askmarihill) April 10, 2017

Winfrey’s decision to give space to Gray will definitely disappoint a lot of fans, besides giving an impetus to questions about whether she has secretly been against gay rights all along. Her actions have prompted people to feel like she is endorsing the homophobic views of the pastor, and is becoming a party to the hurt and damage that he has caused to the LGBT community.