The nasty RSVP scribbled on a birthday party invitation for a little girl hosted by her two gay dads turned out to be a big fat lie dreamed up by two hosts of a New York radio program. The note allegedly scrawled on the returned invite, which went viral on the internet and was picked up by the media, read:
I do not believe in what you do and will not subject my innocent son to your ‘lifestyle. I’m sorry Sophia has to grow up this way. If you have an issue or need to speak to me [name and number redacted].
The hosts of the Morning Show which airs on K-98.3 have now confessed to the hoax and have
issued an apology.
Dear K-98.3 Listeners,
On Wednesday, we told you the story of Sophia's birthday party, and one parent's objection to the same-sex household of Sophia's parents. We also posted the invitation on our Facebook page, and invited comments from our followers.
This story was, in fact, totally fictitious, and created by the two of us. This was done without the knowledge of K-98.3 management or ownership.
We were attempting to spur a healthy discourse on a highly passionate topic, but we made a mistake by misleading our listeners into thinking that this specific situation actually existed.
We are very sorry that we perpetuated this falsehood, even after it was clear that it had taken on a 'life of its own.' We deeply apologize for violating your trust, and we will work hard to regain that trust.
Sincerely,
Steve & Leeana
This really frosts my shorts. The excuse they give that they were merely "attempting to spur a healthy discourse on a highly passionate topic" is utter crap. There are plenty of bigoted people out there who would respond this way to an invitation extended by gay parents to a child's party. There was no need to foster "debate" by making something like this up. It is a fact that very real hatred of LGBT people exists in our society. What is to debate? No, this was a ploy to whip up ratings at our expense and it has backfired, hopefully sending their ratings into a tailspin. Apology aside, these sort of divisive shenanigans, which do much more harm than any possible good, should have repercussions.
The well-intentioned people who expressed outrage at this phony story, me being one of them, deserve better than to be manipulated by a hoax. There are very real instances of ugly bigotry LGBT people face every day. There is no shortage of reasons to be outraged and there was no need to pile on with needless lies. Shame on you Steve Harper and Leeana Costa.
Via Joe. My. God.