Twitter Is Applauding Andrew Zimmern's Sweet Post For Pride Month
On Tuesday, writer and activist Hemant Mehta tweeted a video of "Christian hate-preacher" Dillon Awes making horrifying comments about the LGBTQ+ community, including equating gay people with "the devil" and claiming that they don't deserve to live. With Pride Month in full swing, joyous celebrations of identity across the queer spectrum are too often met with hyper-fervent hate speech from anti-gay extremists like Awes. You don't need to pick up a history book to know that LGBTQ+ people have faced much worse than cruel words from violent homophobes, but any incitement of harm and hatred is more than enough to churn the stomach.
In response to the video, former "Bizarre Foods" host Andrew Zimmern took to Twitter this morning to share a photo of a friend wearing a Pride t-shirt. He added a simple but sweet caption that both condemns Awes' comments and touches on his personal connection to the LGBTQ+ community.
Andrew Zimmern shared that he's the son of gay parents
"It's Pride Month," begins Andrew Zimmern's tweet. "I'm the son of gay parents. My dads lived through Stonewall, a block away on that day in 1969," he wrote, referring to the infamous police raid that led to violent riots at the New York City gay bar. "I have loved ones, family, friends that identify in a whole beautiful alphabet soup of ways. And [Awes] is threatening a holocaust. Hate can't win."
Those who commented on Zimmern's tweet were universally supportive of the chef's message — and also universally disturbed by Awes' speech. "I can say with full confidence that nowhere in the book of Romans, as he references, does it say what he claims," wrote one user who identifies as a Christian. Meanwhile, another user tweeted, "I never knew this of you, Mr. Zimmern. That's awesome. This fact made Me really smile today."
We have no doubt that Zimmern would have condemned Awes' speech even if he didn't have gay dads, but surely fans of the celebrity chef enjoyed learning a new fact about him.