'Anti-Gay Attack' On Reality Star a Ratings Stunt?

An attack against Taylor Garrett, star of Logo's gay reality show "The A-List: Dallas," is purportedly an example of gay thuggishness targeting on the GLBT community's own. But the GLBT online press wonders: Was the "hate crime" faked as a pre-premiere ratings ploy?

The incident in question involved a rock being hurled through the a window of his home. An obscenity-laced note wrapped around the rock called Garrett a number of names and slurs, and told him to "Watch your fucking back."

The note's content sparked speculation that the vandal was a gay person angered by Garrett's status as a gay conservative and a Republican activist.

"You are not A-List," the typed missive read. "More like Z-List. You are nothing but a nellie twink trying to get attention by calling yourself a republican.

"You are nothing but an embarrassment to the gay community," the note continued. "Watch your fucking back you pathetic mother fucking twink."

Garrett had recently met with conservative icon Ann Coulter and GOProud's Executive Director, Jimmy LaSalvia for lunch. The encounter was filmed for inclusion in a future episode of the program. Garrett claimed that the attack was a violent reprisal for having associated with Coulter, and blamed a gay "liberal" for the vandalism and the threatening note.

But doubts have sprung up regarding the authenticity of the so-called "hate crime." JoeMyGod.com reported that the show's executive producer, John Hill, had sent a Twitter message to Garrett congratulating him for having generated publicity for the show. When JoeMyGod attempted to contact Hill for comment, the message vanished:

"When I questioned Hill as to whether he'd played a role in the stunt, his tweet to Garrett was instantly deleted," a posting at the site recounted.

"Neither Hill nor Logo have yet responded to my questions," the posting, written by blogger Joe Jarvis, added. "I understand all too well that gay people are not above the depths of scumbaggery typically associated with producing reality television, but a false hate crime claim is truly beyond the pale.

"At the very least, Logo and the show's producers should address what some are (hopefully wrongly) thinking," Jarvis added, referring to a suspicion that the alleged hate crime was not the work of a gay viewer unhappy with Garrett, but rather a fabrication that might have been intended to plump up ratings, but which risks giving the gay community a black eye in the process.

Anti-gay groups such as the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) have long sought to depict gays' intent upon claiming full-fledged protections and legal rights as being violent and prone to menacing upstanding Christian citizens. Incidents of boycotting and minor vandalism in the wake of Proposition 8 were portrayed as evidence that gay thugs were out to terrorize and harm ordinary Americans.

That depiction continued into the courtroom, when proponents of the anti-gay California ballot initiative that yanked marriage rights away from same-sex families successfully sought to stop the trial from being broadcast on YouTube and to the nation's courthouses via closed circuit TV. GLBT equality proponents argued that the broadcasts would have educated and enlightened America as to the thin rationales and anti-gay sentiments behind such ballot initiatives.

But the measure's supporters argued in turn that if the proceedings were broadcast, the witnesses who testified on behalf of the anti-gay measure would be targeted for intimidation and maybe even physical harm.

The same argument has been made repeatedly when NOM and other groups have sought to conceal the identities of their donors in campaigns to pass anti-gay ballot measures, in spite of election laws.

Though GLTB equality advocates, and everyday gay individuals and families have been the targets of everything from street violence to arson because of their sexuality, anti-gay groups routinely ignore such attacks while insisting that gays are stereotypical lawbreakers.

Indeed, the alleged gay-on-gay hate crime suffered by Garrett is similar to a recent attack on a Seattle gay couple in which the men's cars were both damaged. Their tires were slashed, and each vehicle sustained one broken window. A rock with a threatening note was recovered at the scene.

But online sites worried that the serious nature of anti-gay hate crimes, and the impact they have on their victims, would be downplayed by anti-gay groups if they could seize upon a fake gay-on-gay "hate crime" as evidence that such crimes are suspect and legislation to protect GLBTs is, therefore, unnecessary.

Garrett's Twitter posting about the incident also abruptly vanished, noted AmericaBlog in an Oct. 9 article. The article called for a boycott of Logo if it did turn out to be the case the "hate crime" was faked.

"If this guy lied, and Logo goes ahead with making him a star, then we may have our first boycott of a gay TV network by gays themselves," the America Blog posting read. "You don't freaking joke about hate crimes against gay people, and you don't reward people who do."

The Huffington Postreported in an Oct. 8 article that an online petition seeks to prevent Coulter's appearance in the program from being broadcast.

The "A-List: Dallas" biography for Garrett reads, "He's not even 30, but this powerhouse Christian Gay Republican has already made a near-legendary name for himself in Texas," noted the Huffington Post.

The program is scheduled to premiere on Oct. 10 on Logo.