Developing: HBO says they aren't to blame for not including Gene Robinson in concert special

[Bluebear]

Openly gay bishop Gene Robinson delivered the opening prayer before the start of the concert, but the prayer was not included as part of HBO's broadcast.

Contacted Sunday night by AfterElton.com concerning the exclusion of Robinson's prayer, HBO said via email, "The producer of the concert has said that the Presidential Inaugural Committee made the decision to keep the invocation as part of the pre-show."

Uncertain as to whether or not that meant that HBO was contractually prevented from airing the pre-show, we followed up, but none of the spokespeople available Sunday night could answer that question with absolute certainty.

However, it does seem that the network's position is that they had nothing to do with the decision.

We have also contacted a spokesperson from the Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC) for their explanation and will post what we learn either from PIC or HBO .

Wherever the fault lies, this is yet another unfortunate turn involving GLBT concerns over Obama's selection of Rick Warren to deliver the prayer at Obama's inauguration. Many in the gay community saw Robinson's selection to deliver Sunday's prayer as an olive branch.

But given that most Americans could not attend the concert, instead having to watch it on television, the decision to not broadcast the prayer is being seen by many in the GLBT community as a slight.

http://www.afterelton.com/blog/michaeljensen/developing-hbo-not-blame-exclusion-gene-robinson

[B o d i]

1. (W)riiiiighhhht

/

[Skittles]

2. I'll wait for the PIC statement but

it surely looks like it sucks

[Laughing Mirror]

3. that olive branch

an olive branch held out to us? Or wagged at us behind our backs, completely invisible to the TV audience, and to the world at large.

Some! olive branch.

[1]

4. i though we didn't cotton to none of them religious words in these here parts...

what has changed us to that sort of thing, 'round here...

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

6. Straight or gay, I wouldn't have appreciated any religious figure to give a prayer on HBO.

[Zuiderelle]

7. Well. How about that. Not a very effective olive branch.

[bluedawg12]

17. Gee, not a "world wide affirmation" of unity with the GLBTQ folk.

More like a 1,000 foot radius of affirmation. :sarcasm:

[ThomWV]

8. Do you think they are under an obligation to include preaching?

I am a bit surprised that they bothered to show any of it, and even more-so that they apparently opened up their encryption so that anyone could watch - I believe I saw that here, but I don't know because we get HBO anyway. Personally I'm happy as hell they didn't include some Jesus Feeek preaching their rot and kept it focused on the entertainment. They are, after all, an entertainment enterprise.

On Edit: Sorry, I forgot the Jesus Freek was gay, not that it makes a bit of difference.

[bertman]

9. HALLELUJAH!!! NO PREACHERS AT THE CONCERT!! Thank Dawg for that.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

10. Maybe it's because HBO isn't the friggin 700 Club.

I'd personally be pissed if they started the show off with a prayer. It's not like there wasn't plenty of religious themed music in the program and pretty much every artist was backed by some type of gospel choir.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

11. I Understand The Disappointment, But There Really Wasn't Anything Wrong With Any Of The Decisions.

[SidDithers]

12. Let's see if the same holds true for Warren...

but my suspicions are that we'll see his ugly mug up there in full 1080p.

Sid

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. HBO isn't broadcasting the inauguration

So why would the same thing happen with Warren :shrug:

[terisan]

13. The new administration wants to be re-elected with Evangelical right not GLBT.

This is an alliance and was the group the Obama campaign had been reaching out to from the beginning. They promised to increase Bush's faith-based funding.

Watch for tax money being allocated to this pot and start opposition now. Part of the agenda is also to claim social security is an entitlement so that they can not pay back what is owed and also give Wall Street investment capital.

The Great Economic War of the 21st century has begun and we are the underdogs.

[TheWraith]

20. I suggest you check your facts.

"They promised to increase Bush's faith-based funding. "

No, they're for expanding it, which means extending it to non-evangelical groups, and prohibiting religious tests for charity aid recipients.

"Part of the agenda is also to claim social security is an entitlement so that they can not pay back what is owed and also give Wall Street investment capital."

That sentence makes no sense. Social Security IS an entitlement. Do you know what that word means in terms of federal law?

[Name removed]

14. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Stevenmarc]

15. Oh please

They had more than a couple of bus loads of gays on the stage with the DC Gay Mens Choir right after they did a video piece on Marion Anderson, which made a rather not so subtle statement of inclusion

[Zuiderelle]

18. Oh, more than a COUPLE OF BUS LOADS OF GAYS! Well, then.

Were they wearing signs saying "I'm gay?"



:wtf:

[bluedawg12]

19. Oh please and thank you. Were they doing set decoration?

Because they certainly didn't give a speech about inclusion and civil rights.

Well, even if they were just arranging the palm trees and curtains, or ripping 2X4's with thier little flannel shirts and circular saws, *sigh*, it's still better than nothing for second class citizens.

But these words? No, these weren't allowed world wide:

”Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.” -Rev. Robinson, the prayer that was never broadcast nationwide or world wide.

[Bluebear]

26. A couple bus loads of gays, eh?

Wow.

[bluedawg12]

16. Why would the PIC make sure that it was "pre-show?"

Could it be rightwing pressure?

Dr. GaryCass, CDL.

>>The Flamboyant Homosexual Inaugural

Barack Obama's inauguration will have the dubious distinction of being the most perverted in our nation's history. Obama is not being subtle about either. One of America's most radical and destructive homosexual activists, "Bishop" Vickie Eugene Robinson of New Hampshire, in official inaugural activities will be offering the invocation at the Lincoln Memorial.

Robinson will be appearing with the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington D. C. which forces all Christians around the world to compromise their character if they want to watch the inauguration. <<

[TheWraith]

21. Maybe it was the fact that they barely had time to spare during the show?

Nah, it had to be Obama personally polishing the boots of some utterly insignificant right-wing nutjob. :sarcasm:

[foxfeet]

24. Those Christians in a snit over this

have no character to compromise.

[WI_DEM]

22. if it was part of the pre-show, doesn't that mean it wouldn't be televised anyway

since HBO was just doing the concert?

[Hanse]

23. Robinson's prayer was a recent addition to the program.

Occam's Razor dictates that much of the program had already been scheduled, and HBO's decision to start broadcast at 2:30 had already been made.

[Bluebear]

25. And Obama's program shows Robinson starting at 2:30. Next?