Oops, Pat Robertson Did It Again
October 26th, 2014
The famed American Evangelist and host of “The 700 Club” is known for
sticking his foot in his mouth when it comes to gay issues, and he
probably doesn’t care. He has a following of millions from around the
globe, many who live in developing nations and look to the TV prophet
for guidance and support. He has his audience, they are loyal, and they
certainly do not consist of LGBT people. But when Robertson made an
off-hand remark about the dangers of traveling to Kenya, he may have
alienated a major part of his faithful following.
Last week, a viewer of Robertson’s TV show called in to get the host’s thoughts on whether a planned trip to Kenya was risky or not.
Robertson responded: “You might get AIDS in Kenya. The people have AIDS in Kenya. The towels could have AIDS.”
The Christian Broadcast Network, the company responsible for airing Robertson’s show, issued this statement shortly after these comments aired.
“Dr. Robertson misspoke
about the possibility of getting AIDS through towels. CBN Quickly
recognized the error and quickly removed the statement from the online
archive. CBN recognizes the error and apologizes for any confusion.”
Although the CBN issued a correction to his statement, many Kenyans have taken to social media, demanding that Robertson issue a formal apology on his show. Several prominent voices in Kenya have also weighed in on Robertson’s comments. Mumbi Seraki, a popular radio host in Nairobi, is rallying his listeners to ask for an on-air apology. Former legislator and human rights lawyer, Gitobu Imanyara, understands that Robertson misspoke, but questions whether he is really sorry for the damage he has done, both to the international reputation of Kenya and for perpetuating stigmatic misinformation about HIV.
According to the CDC, a person can only be infected with HIV by having sex or sharing needles with another person who is HIV positive. The virus is spread through blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, vaginal fluids and breast milk. These fluids must come into direct contact with mucous membranes or directly injected into the bloodstream. And regardless of what Robertson thinks, the virus cannot be spread through surfaces, such as towels.
It is unknown whether Robertson plans on publicly acknowledging his stigma-fueled snafu.
*Tyler Curry is Senior Editor, HIV Equal Online
http://hivequal.org/hiv-equal-online/oops-pat-robertson-did-it-again#.VE5_LQcIWNY.facebook
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