Wendy Williams Being Canceled By The Gay Community?
Are We Over Reacting To Her Comments?
Despite hating the term, I would definitely say I “stan” for daytime talk show host and forever Hot Topic, Wendy Williams. I stan so hard for her that she even put me on her show as one of her biggest fans for a 10K Giveaway Challenge , a segment she’s been doing for the last two years (I choked, but I was so nervous about meeting my idol I genuinely thought I was having a heart attack).
Williams recently saw herself in muddy waters after talking about Joaquin Phoenix’s cleft lip. So much so, that she went on to publicly apologize and donated a large lump sum of money to Operation Smile. Now, if you haven’t heard, she’s having her name dragged by people who want to cancel her after making a few bold comments on gay men dressing in women’s clothing.
In Williams’ February 13th episode celebrating Gal-entines Day (an anti-Valentine’s Day where single girls hang out with their best friends instead), she stated that gay men will never be like natural women. She mentioned that gay men should stop wearing skirts and heels – and envies that gay men will never experience menstrual pains but want to align themselves closely with the female gender. The internet and especially the LGBTQ community had a freakin’ field day with her comments and declared her canceled as well as wrote her off as homophobic and transphobic. Friday, today, she released a video apology as she’s realized her comments have offended a lot of her fans in our community.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezhv_4oZaiY
My opinion is I am sure an incredibly unpopular opinion, but Williams did not need to apologize. If you’ve been a long time fan of her show (I’ve been watching since season 2) you’ll know she has a gigantic gay following because she says it like she means it and doesn’t hold back. That’s literally the quality in her that all gay men fawn over! She’s tall and buxom with daily hair changes, she’s not only sharp tongued but an entertainer. Drag Queens are adorned for exhibiting the exact same behavior Williams walks everyday. Williams is your outrageous, loudmouth, care-free aunt who has no filter and borderline sexually harasses the young bartenders when you go out with your family. Yeah, you might be a little embarrassed by you love going out with her anyway.
This isn’t the first time Williams was criticized by the gay community. A few years back for RuPaul’s Drag Race season nine’s premiere, Williams was hosting a pre-show and those drag queens and cohost, Michelle Visage, went ballistic. They claimed that Williams was homophobic and transphobic because she and/or her crew wouldn’t allow a drag queen to come in full costume to be a guest member in her audience, instead inviting him back for a Halloween episode where he could wear his outfit. This was labeled as insensitive? You wouldn’t invite someone to your wedding and be fine if they showed up in a wedding dress, would you? No, you wouldn’t. Why would Williams want the attention taken off of her? And why is someone trying to take the attention off of her at her own show? You need to learn when to upstage and when to take a beat.
Were Williams comments pointed? Definitely. Was she being homophobic or transphobic? Personally, I don’t think she was calling out all gay men that include the more traditional female garb in their daily lives. But I feel she may be calling what she has seen in recent years where men are receiving all of the YAAAAAAASSSSSS-es from society and the press for going ultra non-traditional. Are they doing while being their authentic selves or are they doing it for the applause applause applause? We all do love that applause.
Williams has been called homophobic also for her comments on sexuality. If you read between the lines, she was not poking fun at gay people, but instead calling out alleged closeted celebrities for not living their authentic lives. We’ve seen her give the “How You Doin’?” and “The streets are talking” look to quite a few celebs who have had rumors of same-sex relationships, including Kanye West and Kendall Jenner. She was labeled transphobic for questioning Caitlyn Jenner’s genitalia after surgery, but let’s get real – weren’t we all? And we all were gossiping about Kendra Wilkinson’s now ex-husband, Hank Baskett, when he was caught cheating with a transgender woman. She uses her television platform to say the things we are thinking and talking about.
Remember our old friend Kathy Griffin? Everyone, even the gays turned on her after the beheaded president photograph scandal, just later to come back to her and purchase her tour tickets. And now they are turning on Williams. Like my undying love for Griffin, despite her flaws, my Williams fandom is more personal. As a teenager struggling with personal issues very closely related to her past which she often speaks of, I discovered The Wendy Williams Show and began watching. After seeing her call out Hollywood with an opinion that aligned closely to mine, I felt normal and was able to laugh again. After getting back on my feet I still continued to watch Williams and will forever remain a Wendy Watcher for years to come. My defense of Wendy Williams is probably not a favorite thing around the Instinct office or current gay climate, but it’s my opinion, my thoughts.
The Wendy Williams Shows airs in syndication on Fox each morning. I’m sure her ratings will be huge on Monday as people await if she will address her comments being a current hot topic.
Writer’s Note: This is the opinion of one Instinct Magazine contributor and does not reflect the views of Instinct Magazine itself or fellow contributors.
She may be fierce and no nonsense, which many a gay person may enjoy. But she can be salty and enjoyable and still be homophobic and transphobic. Be her stan if you can stomach it, but you twist her comments quite a bit for her to come out untarnished.
First of all, if men (and why just gay men? Has nobody noticed the rise of more genderbending clothing among straight men?) want to break down gender barriers by embracing clothing associated with being female, we should applaud them. Clothing is not inherently gendered, but the attribution is a societal and cultural construct.
Second, she clearly means Transgender women, when she talks about the men(!), who want to allign themselves with women. This is wrong on so many levels, how you were even able to excuse this is beyond me.
And, finally, she also implied this is something ALL gay men do, confirming once again the prejudice of gay men being effiminate.
I don’t like cancel-culture, but neither do I want those comments to go by condoned and excused. That she at least noticed the pain she caused is a good sign, even though I’m less than convinced of her sincerity.
She’s a Trainwreck that has derailed numerous times, it’s time to get her off the Tracks. An old school TV Test Pattern is more interesting than Her less than mediocre “Talk Show”. #ByeFelicia
men are not fawning over her hate and bigotry. It is wrong. Stop. The immaturity of your piece of shit, i mean article is astounding to your ignorance to peoples feelings and what is considered decent. shame on you. #BOYCOTT WENDY WILLIAMS.
What a traitor to the gay community. Both Wendy Williams and the author of this article. We would only be so lucky if both got cancelled.
Amen! Especially this author
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