Kristin Chenoweth Was Asked About Her Gay Fans After Expressing Support for Charlie Kirk
“It’s no secret that I’m a Christian, that I’m a person of faith, it’s also no secret that I am an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and for some that doesn’t go together. But for me, it always has. And it always will.”
Kristin Chenoweth is a beloved actress, singer and Broadway star who is most well known for originating the role of Glinda in the musical Wicked. She has also acted in television shows like The West Wing, Pushing Daisies (for which she won an Emmy) and Glee. Her next project is a musical based on the 2012 documentary The Queen of Versailles, about a wealthy wife building her 90,000-square-foot dream mansion in central Florida.
Chenoweth is one of many celebrities currently under fire for mourning or not mourning the death of right wing influencer Charlie Kirk. In her case, fans wonder whether Chenoweth’s status as a gay icon is at odds with her praise for a public figure who openly argued against gay people’s right to marry. Here is the comment the singer is under fire for:
Yesterday in an interview with NY1, Chenoweth was asked to tell her LGBTQ fans (and fans who are allies) what she hoped to convey. She explained that before she made the comment, she had just seen the footage of Kirk’s assassination — which is objectively horrifying. She said, “It’s no secret that I’m a Christian, that I’m a person of faith, it’s also no secret that I am an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and for some that doesn’t go together. But for me, it always has. And it always will.”
From the interview, it seems that Chenoweth was reacting to the shocking footage, rather than mourning Charlie Kirk because she was a fan of his work. Last year, Chenoweth shared our positive review of I Saw the TV Glow, a horror movie by trans writer and director Jane Schoenbrun, to her Instagram followers:
Chenoweth received similar criticism in 2005 when she went on right-wing Christian television show The 700 Club to promote an album. She later said she regretted her appearance:
“I’m a very controversial figure in the Christian world. I don’t believe if you’re gay or you have a drink or you dance you’re going to hell. I don’t think that’s the kind of God we have. The Pat Robertsons and Jerry Falwells of the world are scary. I want to be a Christian like Christ — loving and accepting of other people.”
The Queen of Versailles is expected to hit Broadway in late 2025.
