The 700 Club host Pat Robertson has suggested that America needs to “confess and forsake” the sin of gay weddings for God to cure coronavirus.
The 90-year-old Christian TV host, who has anchored the reliably-homophobic daily show for 54 years, nodded along on Monday as a viewer, John, called in to ask whether coronavirus is caused by same-sex weddings and abortion.
John asked: “How can God heal our land and forgive the sins when abortion and same-sex marriage are laws and many people are anti-Israel. Doesn’t this prevent his healing and forgiveness?”
Televenagelist says US has ‘allowed this terrible plague to spread throughout our society’.
Rather than dismiss the line of questioning, Robertson insisted that the viewer is “right”.
He said: “You know, I think you put your finger on something very important… the Bible says, they turn from their wicked ways, they didn’t get forgiven, they will turn from their wicked ways.
“And part of what we’ve done is turn. We are not turning when we have done terrible things. We have broken the covenant that God made with the mankind. We have violated his covenant.”
He added: “We’ve allowed this terrible plague to spread throughout our society. And it’s a small wonder God would hold us guilty.
“But the answer is, you know, you confess your sins and forsake them. Then he heals the land. It’s not before. You are right.”
Pat Robertson is basically forcing a TV channel to air his weird homophobic bile.
Robertson’s show The 700 Club airs on Disney-ABC channel Freeform, which is contractually required to air it under a legal agreement that stems from the channel’s original ownership by the Christian Broadcasting Network.
In 2016, Vulture reported that Robertson had rejected a multi-million dollar contract buyout offer from Disney that would have seen the show taken off air.
The channel instead airs disclaimers before Robertson’s broadcasts that sometimes pastiche its content. One says: “The people at Freeform would like you to know that we did not make this next program. We haven’t even seen it.”
Another adds: “Freeform is not responsible for what is about to appear on your screen. Watch or don’t watch. We’re OK either way.”
It’s probably not a mystery why the network is hoping to see the back of Robertson, given his claims that the US will face a nuclear attack if it passes an LGBT+ non-discrimination law, and insistence that gay people are willing to destroy society to protect “their weird way of doing sex”.