Patti LaBelle on Republican nephew-son: ‘I didn’t choose my family’

LaBelle, a longtime Democratic Party supporter, is speaking out about her Donald Trump-backing kin's conservative views.

Biba Adams

Dec 17, 2020

Legendary songstress Patti LaBelle is speaking out about her nephew and adopted son, William “Byl” Holte, who went viral around Thanksgiving when a white Republican candidate said he knew a “Black gay guy” who “can personally say Obama did nothing for me.”

That “guy” was apparently Holte, who later posted a video defending the man’s remarks and affirming his own Republican beliefs.

Patti LaBelle is shown at last month’s 94th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade® in New York City. The singing legend is speaking out about her nephew and adopted son’s political views. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Macy’s, Inc.)

In the video, Holte initially claimed to be Dan Purdy, the Republican who first posted his remarks. His real identity was later confirmed.

“Donald Trump has never done anything to hurt me, either as a gay man or as a Black man,” Holte-as-Purdy said. “Nor has he done anything to hurt anybody in the four years he’s been in office because he hasn’t had time to. So, what’s the big deal?”

His aunt-mother, LaBelle, is a longtime supporter of the Democratic Party and former President Barack Obama. In an interview with O Magazine, she said she loves him.

“Guess what?” she said, “I didn’t choose my family. I choose my friends.”

“I love Billy. He has a Republican mind. And, guess what? I don’t,” said LaBelle. “But do I hate him for having the mind that he has? No, I can’t.”

Just before her interview, she spoke to Holte on the phone.

“He was saying, ‘I love you, and I’m so sorry,’” she said. “You give people chances when sometimes, they don’t even know what they’re doing or why. So I can’t beat him up for the rest of his life. I decided to take the high road with him by letting him know that you make mistakes — but when my name comes in that mistake, that’s a no-no. Certain things happen in life, and I just keep going on, because I love him.”

Holte is the son of LaBelle’s younger sister, Jacqueline, who died in 1989. After her sister’s passing, the singer adopted Holte and his sister, Stayce.

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