It was the latest, but most public and most vocal, fallout from
Dr. Laura Schlessinger's on-air remarks referring to homosexuality as "deviant"
and "a biological error." Protesters feel that Paramount is giving the
controversial radio shrink a bigger
soapbox from which to shout her alleged anti-gay rhetoric.
Many of the 500 irate, sign-toting, slogan-chanting picketers were Paramount
employees, including Frasier cocreator Davis Lee. "I'm here because
something I've worked for during the past 15 years has betrayed me," Lee said,
adding that Paramount execs were acting "irresponsibly by giving a platform to a
woman who is hurting the gay community, literally."
Lee said he joined the protestors, whose signs read "I am not a biological
error" and "Hate is a Paramount concern," when his talks with Paramount
executives bombed.
Meanwhile, across the street, about two dozen supporters of Schlessinger
chanted: "Protect Dr. Laura, protect free speech."
"It feels like we're in the 1950s again," says Bill Dobbs, a gay civil-rights
attorney and member of the organization Queer Watch. "I don't know how [giving
Dr. Laura a show] can be progress."
While Schlessinger has insisted she didn't mean to disparage homosexuals (she
"clarified" her
remarks in a March 10 statement, saying she never intended "to hurt anyone
or contribute in any way to an atmosphere of hate or intolerance"), she still
maintains that homosexuality is a curable condition. And she says the First
Amendment protects her right to say it.
As for Paramount, the studio issued a statement saying: "We are committed to
presenting society's moral and ethical issues without creating or contributing
to an environment of hurt, hate or intolerance."
Despite the studio's assurances for a balanced show, protesters say if
Paramount doesn't drop the show, which is set to debut in most of the country in
September, they will go for the jugular and turn their campaign to the show's
advertisers.
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