For years, Franklin Graham – the son of Billy Graham and founder of the Charlotte based national non-profit Samaritan’s Purse – has lived in the shadow of his late father. His life has seen continuing controversies, including a history of excess with alcohol and drug use in earlier years and an over-sized compensation package for his work with Samaritan’s Purse and his role as the CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
While it’s unclear what exactly Graham’s specific aims are, one thing is certain: he has no great love for the LGBTQ+ community and he never hesitates to snatch an opportunity to spew out words of intolerance and condemnation.
As reported in Qnotes in 2022, he railed against the Biden administration and transgender individuals as “evil” and “wicked” and has never spared his harsh words when it comes to same-sex marriage. Now he’s at it again, this time complaining about Chip and Joanna Gaines for including a same-sex married family – Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs and their two sons – on the Magnolia Network series “Back to the Frontier.”
Graham’s words from mid-July as posted on Twitter/X:
“I hope this isn’t true, but I read … that Chip and Joanna Gaines are featuring a gay couple in their new series. If It is true, it is very disappointing. While we are to love people, we should love them enough to tell them the truth of God’s Word. His Word is absolute truth. God loves us, and His design for marriage is between one man and one woman. Promoting something that God defines as sin is in itself sin.”
The Gaines duo, who identify as Christian, responded to the criticism on the same social media platform:
“Talk, ask [questions], listen.. maybe even learn,” Chip wrote. “Too much to ask of modern American Christian culture. Judge 1st, understand later/never. It’s a sad Sunday when ‘non believers’ have never been confronted with hate or vitriol until they are introduced to a modern American Christian.”
This isn’t the first time Graham has set his sights on entertainment production for being inclusive.
As previously reported in Qnotes, Graham also joined in on the chorus of conservatives calling for a boycott of Disney because the company spoke out against Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans the mention of LGBTQ+ people in elementary school and limits it in other grades.
“Disney is indoctrinating children with the LGBTQ agenda – and they don’t even try to hide it,” Graham wrote. “I certainly hope parents wake up to what Disney is trying to do and protect their children and grandchildren from the lies this once-great company is now so willing to promote.”
Despite criticism from Graham and others who oppose the presence of the Hanna and Riggs family on the program, Chip and Joanna Gaines are continuing to support the married male couple and their sons. Hanna and Riggs replied to the fracas on Instagram.
“Representation matters deeply,” Hanna wrote on Instagram. “Especially for those who are still finding the courage to live their truth. When families like ours are visible, it opens doors for others to feel safe, loved, and validated. Visibility isn’t just about being seen; it’s about making sure no one feels alone.”
New episodes of Back to The Frontier are available on the Magnolia Network and HBO/Max Thursdays at 8 p.m. It’s also available for streaming on both platforms.
“He is without sin, can cast the first stone.” Funny he says nothing about the gays in the Trump MAGA world.
Franklin Graham seems to think that erasing LGBTQ+ people from public view will “cure” them.