Kid Rock has been criticised by campaigners for using the word gay as a "derogatory term".
The musician risked sending shockwaves through the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community when he called rap-rock, the genre of music which made him famous, "bulls**t" and "pretty gay".
During his interview with Britain's The Guardian newspaper, he refused to apologise for his use of the word gay and insisted, "You're not going to get anything politically correct out of me."
LGBT activists have now hit out at Rock and insisted such comments can "inflict untold and lasting emotional pain".
Charles Joughin from Human Rights Campaign, America's largest civil rights organisation, tells WENN, "Celebrities in positions of influence have a responsibility to understand that words matter. They can inflict untold and lasting emotional pain. The problem with using 'gay' as an adjective to describe something negatively is that it positions gay people as second-class citizens worthy of scorn and ridicule... Kid Rock can do better, especially when you consider the young people who look up to him."
Tony Butchart-Kelly of The Albert Kennedy Trust, a charity which helps LGBT youngsters, adds, "The use of 'gay' as a derogatory term for anything bad can often leave LGB [sic] people feeling that their sexual orientation is something to be ashamed of... A continued use of 'gay' in this way by people in the public eye can further ingrain the feelings of low self-worth and shame about their sexual orientation."
WENN.com
source: newshub archive
