Todrick Hall recently posted a letter to the LGBTQ+ community, addressing the backlash that his reality TV show, The Real Friends of WeHo, has been receiving.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ClB5ECJJYBT/
The series takes inspiration from the Real Housewives franchise, and it follows the lives of six gay men in West Hollywood, including Hall, Brad Goreski, Curtis Hamilton, Jaymes Vaughan, Dorion Renaud, and Joey Zauzig.
The Real Friends of WeHo premiered on January 20, but even before that, it had already received backlash from LGBTQ+ viewers because the new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race was shortened from 60 minutes to 40 (without ads) to make room for the new reality show.
Hall posted a series of photos of his handwritten letter ahead of the show’s premiere, and a part of it reads:
“When our LGBTQ+ show was announced, you’d think any pushback would’ve come from the church or conservatives upset with 3 hours of queer programming on a mega network.
But a closer look would show you that the call was coming from inside the house. We fight for acceptance, yet we don’t accept our own.”
You can read his full letter here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CnqAYqiPlvn/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=4d41fc73-c958-4713-8b04-8fa709d8d71a
Of course, gay Twitter has a lot to say about Hall’s lengthy letter, and let’s just say many of them were unimpressed…
Todrick Hall trying to spin the disdain for “Real Friends of WeHo” as “hate within our community” is the most tone-deaf thing.
We don’t want this show because it’s about typical WeHo gays. Show us someone interesting… and NOT self-absorbed.
— Greg Blackmon (@BourbonBlackmon) January 21, 2023
ATTENTION FUTURE TV SHOW PRODUCERS. IF TODRICK HALL IS ON YOUR SHOW WE WILL NOT BE WATCHING #RealFriendsOfWeHo https://t.co/KPMqUrje5c
— Stellaaa (@saidwhatisaidok) January 6, 2023
Todrick Hall getting on his soapbox to preach that ppl not watching the real friends of WeHo means they don’t want true queer representation. Sir. Everyone just doesn’t like YOU. pic.twitter.com/UPR5EcLMNM
— Rachel. (@_loveRachel_) January 22, 2023
https://twitter.com/filmlamet/status/1617303521300467712?s=20&t=QAf0k34mjmz5BWWd1NiJpA
Lmao @ Todrick Hall thinking the gays don’t like him out of self-hatred rather than the fact that he’s just a vile person.
— Jabari (@pettyblooded) January 23, 2023
The Real Friends of WeHo airs every Friday on MTV after RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 and before Untucked.
Sources: gaytimes.co.uk, dlisted.com
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could celebrate gay men and women who are making the world better? The scientists, the brain surgeons, the teachers, etc…but instead we glorify narcissism and messy behaviors. This show is nothing more than another go at the atrocious “A-List”
Since I saw him on Big Brother is when I just couldn’t support him anymore. Just seems like he’s not a good person. I’ll watch the show because I try to support all things gay so I’ll watch for the other cast members.