Arts & Entertainment
Watch: gay dads criticized for raising a child on ‘What Would You Do?’
The social experiment was conducted in Kentucky and New York
(Screenshot via YouTube)
Unsuspecting diners had their views on gay adoption and foster care tested in a new segment on “What Would You Do?”
The scenario was inspired by the statistic that same-sex couples in the U.S. are raising almost 60,000 adopted and foster children. Married same-sex couples have opened their homes to 26,000 of those children.
On this episode of the hidden camera show, actors portrayed a gay couple raising an adopted daughter. While out at a restaurant, the couple is verbally harassed by a woman who believes the child shouldn’t be raised without a mother. The social experiment was conducted in both Orangetown, New York and Bardstown, Kentucky to compare how location affected people’s reactions.
In Kentucky, the harasser makes comments such as “I don’t think a child should be raised that way” and “That’s an innocent child with two gay men raising her.”
One man jumps up from the table saying “Lady, are you nuts or something? This lady is annoying me, probably these other people. We need it stop. We didn’t come here to be annoyed by you.”
A woman responds to the harasser by saying “I’m a teacher. I see it all the time and the children do not have problems.”
Some diners did note that while they disagree with the couple’s lifestyle they thought it was wrong of the woman to harass them in public.
In New York, customers were also supportive of the family.
“You need to lighten up lady,” one customer tells the harasser.“You need to back off. You’ve got two people celebrating and demonstrating love for a child. You’ve got some nerve. It doesn’t matter. Love is love. Would you rather see that child homeless, starving to death? It’s not about your opinion. It’s about the welfare of a child, a human being. The problem in the world is not two men raising a child. The problem in the world is you making comments like that.”
Watch below.
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Television loses a legend, longtime ‘Will & Grace’ director James Burrows
Iconic hitmaker leaves behind a legacy of telling LGBTQ stories
You don’t have to be a pretentious film major to name 10 movie directors. But naming television directors is not that simple. They’re the unsung heroes of your favorite shows, and the late James Burrows was the television director. He passed on June 19, but his DNA runs through television history.
He directed over 1200 episodes of television and over 50 pilots. He co-created “Cheers” and directed many episodes of long-running series like “Friends,” “Taxi,” “Frasier,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “Two and a Half Men.” You also may remember him from playing a heightened version of himself on the Lisa Kudrow comedy “The Comeback.”
He has left an indelible mark on the LGBTQ community. As recently as last year, he directed the series run of “Mid-Century Modern” starring Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, and Linda Lavin. He was also a longtime director of “Will & Grace” and directed every episode of the series revival. He even directed the unaired “Absolutely Fabulous” pilot with Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Johnston, and Zosia Mamet.
Not to mention he’s worked with queer icons throughout history, including Betty White and Stockard Channing on their single-season series, and Jennifer Coolidge in “2 Broke Girls.”
He started his career on shows like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Rhoda,” “Laverne & Shirley,” and the first four seasons of “Taxi.”
He continued to work steadily and directed successful pilots that went to series for “Roc,” “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “Dharma & Greg,” and “Wings.” He directed multiple episodes of “Friends,” “Caroline in the City,” and “Frasier.”
This magic continued into the 2000s with him directing the pilots for “Two and a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and multiple episodes of “Mike & Molly,” and the entire return series of “Will & Grace.”
What was the secret to his success? He’d enact the “fun clause” in his contract. In his words, “Life is too short to deal with obnoxious leads,” he shared. “So as long as the writing is good and the cast is fun, I’m going to enjoy the experience.”
He had the magic touch, having multiple pilots turned into long-running series. He was nominated for an Emmy 24 times in 26 years and worked consistently until a year before his death.
The secret was the way he brought the cast together. He describes, “it was my job to mold them into an ensemble, and they did round into a group of people who loved each other.”
This earned him 11 Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards, including being awarded the inaugural DGA’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Television Direction.
In a 2003 interview by the Television Academy, he was asked how he wants to be remembered, and he said, “That every night forever you can tune in somewhere, and there’ll be a show I did.”
He’s survived by his wife, Debbie, four daughters, seven grandchildren, and the countless people whose careers he launched and the countless viewers he inspired with his television legacy.
Photos
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