American Idol runner-up ‘doesn’t agree’ with LGBT ‘lifestyle’
By Will Stroude
AmericanIdol’s
most recent runner-up La’Porsha Renae says she doesn’t “agree” with the LGBT lifestyle, but has offered an olive branch at least by adding that gay people are “not animals”.
Mississippi-born Renae, who finished in second placet to Trent Harmon in the 15th and final season of the US singing competition last week, made the comments last week after being asked about her home state’s newly-signed anti-LGBT law, which allows businesses to discriminate against LGBT on the grounds of religious liberty’, GossipCop reports.
“This is how I feel about the LGBT community: They are people just like us. They’re not animals as someone [Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao] stated before. They’re people with feelings”, the 22-year-old said.
“Although all of us may not agree with that particular lifestyle for religious reasons, whatever the reason is, you still treat each other with respect. Everybody is a human being. We should be able to coexist with one another.”
The singer went on: “I am one of the people who don’t really agree with that lifestyle. I wasn’t brought up that way. It wasn’t how I was raised.”
She added: “But I do have a lot of friends and a lot of people that I love dearly who are gay and homosexual and they’re such sweet, nice people. We should just respect each other’s differences and opinions and move on.”
Despite offering her ‘respect’ to LGBT people, Renae’s comments quickly drew criticism online, prompting her to reiterate them in a tweet on Saturday.
“We don’t have to agree with each other’s life choices to love/respect each one another. Live and let live”, she wrote.
We don’t have to agree with each other’s life choices to love/respect one another. Live and let live. #RENAETION #RespectThatWeAreDifferent
— La’Porsha~Renae (@laporsharenae) April 9, 2016
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