Andy Cohen rails against Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill: 'This is one big dog whistle'
Andy Cohen is watching what's happening in Florida, and he's disturbed.
The Watch What Happens Live host ended his latest episode by addressing the "personally disturbing" news that the Florida Senate passed a controversial bill banning teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with young kids.
"To Florida Republicans: you're pretending to solve a problem that doesn't exist," Cohen said. "There's not a mass conspiracy of kindergarten teachers who are plotting to teach children to be gay. This is one big dog whistle. You're scaring people into spewing hate and discrimination at the LGBTQ community."
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Cohen added that "as a gay parent, I'm concerned" about whether the "deliberately vague" language in the "hateful" bill leaves room for it to be interpreted to mean his son wouldn't be allowed to talk with his teacher about "his gay dad." He also slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) press secretary for claiming that anyone who opposes the bill is "probably a groomer." Cohen shot back, "You can't groom someone to be gay. You're born gay."
Cohen concluded his passionate rant by saying, "I thought the whole point of sending our kids to school was to educate them and prepare them for the real world. Well, newsflash: the real world has gay people in it. It has people of all different gender identities. You can draft all the homophobic and transphobic bills you want. You're not going to erase us. I just wonder how many children and families need to suffer before our politicians figure that out."
Actress Kate McKinnon, who is gay, previously spoke out against the law on Saturday Night Live, joking, "If the '90s were right and gay means bad, then this is the gayest law I have ever seen." Meanwhile, Disney CEO Bob Chapek has been resisting calls to condemn the bill, claiming in a memo to employees that doing so would be "counterproductive."
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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