Gokey Controversy Marches On

This is from the MTV Site


It started with some Facebook photos, a dinner at Buca di Beppo, a few unsavory comments and an autographed picture, then quickly escalated into an Internet maelstrom that topped Twitter's Trending Topics list and became one of the most-searched subjects on Google. It's Danny Gokey-gate, and it just won't go away.

On Thursday, MTV News posted an article that attempted to explain the entire issue, and fans of Gokey and Adam Lambert took up the fight from there, inundating our site with comments that touched on some pretty big subjects.

Namely, homophobia and religion, two issues that are at the heart of the whole controversy in the first place. Were the comments Gokey's cousin and her friends left below the Facebook pics homophobic? How about the ones Gokey himself made during a Comcast chat earlier this week (which went, in part, "I accept gay people, but people have to accept my beliefs ... we agree to disagree")? Or were all those things just examples of the Gokeys expressing their religious beliefs, which — last time we checked — they are more than entitled to have?

To be honest, we were sort of blown away by the debate, so much so that we decided to showcase it. Below are some of the best comments, as left by MTV.com users. And if you feel like your voice hasn't been heard yet, feel free to chime in below.

"I saw this trending last night. It seems that a LiveJournal community didn't like the actions of Gokey and his cousin. I can't blame them for that, and the whole stunt that Gokey and his family perpetrated deserved to be exposed. This wasn't the first homophobic blip on Gokey's radar, and it's pretty clear that he and members of his family aren't the most tolerant folks around. It's very disappointing." - LisaNYC

"I warmed to Danny towards the end of the series and thought he was hard done by a lot of fans of the other contestants. How wrong could I have been? What a twonk! He and his family are an insult to Christianity and general humanity." - FrankieBaby84

"I see the Glamberts are already here posting their Danny hate. If Danny is to be held accountable for what his cousin said and did, then Adam is to be held accountable for all the hateful things his brother Neil — a.k.a. negativeneil at Vote for the Worst — has been spewing about Danny for the last three months. Can we just stop all the hate already?" - Lizzy

"Wow, this is amazing. People really need to figure out what is important in life ... or find other hobbies other than bashing Danny Gokey. I think people have made it their full-time job to bash the man. Interestingly enough, it's not even Danny's photos. If Adam was ashamed over what he was wearing or the way he looked, why did he perform in 'Wicked'? I'm not connecting the dots here. If Danny has said that he's cool with Adam and Adam says he's cool with Danny, why are fans getting so hostile towards Gokey? I think it's just showing ignorance on your behalf rather than stating that Danny is showing hate. ... Danny has repeatedly stated that he has his 'beliefs' and Adam has his 'beliefs.' ... Why can we accept Adam's beliefs and not Danny's? That seems like hatred too, huh?" - PerkyPrincess3

"[Danny] and his entire family give Christians a bad name. That entire [Facebook] page is sickening, as are the comments and ill intent behind everything they did that night to Lambert, from taking photos with him so they could mock him to Danny printing out photos and then turning around and making a joke out of it with his cousin." - Sumer

"My, my, don't we have innocent folk here? NOT!! Playing a joke on a friend, since when is that bad? Oh yeah, when people like you take it out of context. Danny's joke to Adam was harmless. Remember Adam has a 'free will' and could've refused to sign it, and I'm sure Danny would've gotten it. But Adam signed it. That's a sense of approval, don't you think? ... Danny's Christianity has nothing to do with joking. Danny is human, he is not God. It's obvious you are interested in Danny if you take the time to post a comment and/or read about him. People, grow up. Oh, I have a better idea, instead of reading this stuff, read the Bible and write in a journal." - MarieVal

"What Danny did was premeditated and vile. Out of thousands of fab pictures of Adam, he took the time to find one he knew would embarrass Adam, printed it out and brought it to dinner [and] had the nerve to ask Adam to sign it at dinner. This shows malice and a mean, evil spirit. Adam's face in that picture broke my heart. Made me sad that people like Danny Gokey are alive and well in the U.S. and call themselves Christian. How dare they when their behavior is anything but what God tried to teach? Danny disgusts me." - Aubry

"I love that picture of Adam. It's good to be green." - Glambertfan