La’Porsha Renae slammed for insensitivity after she criticizes LGBT ‘lifestyle’
Fresh off a loss on American Idol, runner-up La’Porsha Renae has found herself in hot water after she called the LGBT community a “lifestyle.”
Renae, in an interview, was asked about how she felt about the “Religious Liberty” bill 1523 that her home state of Mississippi had banned, allowing members of the LGBT community to be refused services by people who claimed religious exemptions.
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“They are people just like us,” she said. “They’re people with feelings. Although all of us may not agree with that particular lifestyle for religious reasons, whatever the reason is, you still treat each other with respect…I am one of the people who don’t really agree with that lifestyle. I wasn’t brought up that way. It wasn’t how I was raised.”
People quickly took to Twitter to decry her comments, and it didn’t help matters when she responded writing, “We don’t have to agree with each other’s life choices to love/respect one another.”
.@laporsharenae glad you're leaving Mississippi. One less close minded person holding my home state back. Too bad–I was a fan.
— Kit Williamson (@kitwilliamson) April 10, 2016
@laporsharenae being gay is not a life choice, nor lifestyle. It's who you are. Please educate yourself. Your statements are disappointing.
— Rituals of Mine (@RitualsofMine) April 10, 2016
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Several Twitter users dragged Renae for her use of the term “lifestyle,” as well as her follow up comments referring to “life choices.” They pointed out that this kind of language suggests that being gay is a choice and not part of a person’s identity.
.@laporsharenae It's cute that you think I'd *choose* to be discriminated against.
— doria roberts (@doriaroberts) April 10, 2016
On Sunday, the 22-year-old apologized via Periscope, saying that she had meant absolutely no offense.
“I tried to be as open and honest and neutral as possible, but that’s the way interviews go. Sometimes when you do interviews, it gets twisted up,” she said. “I can understand when I read it back why people were offended, and for that I deeply apologize. I wasn’t trying to offend anyone. I was just trying to honestly answer a question that caught me off guard. It was supposed to be an interview about singing, and it became political and I’m not a political person at all.”
https://twitter.com/laporsharenae/status/719030407132536832
The singer recently inked a deal with Motown Records.
