Cher appears to leave Twitter after voicing support for anti-gay pastor
Tweets sent from Cher’s account praising a pastor who said gay people were “not God’s best work” have drawn confusion from fans.
Cher had praised the welcoming nature of pastor Joel Osteen, who has said homosexuality is a sin, after buying his latest book.
She tweeted: “I love Joel Osteen,hes example of Christian!He makes Every1 feel welcome 2 his church no matter who they R!1st book like this I ever bought.
“I know this Sounds CRAZY Coming From ME,But he’Cool,UpBeat,wants u 2 have Fun,He’sFunny & Not Preachy! don’t care if ppl think I’m UnCool!”
A follower replied: “Umm… not everyone. He’s pretty uncool about gays.”
Cher, who has over 700,000 followers on the micro-blogging site, replied: “But IM NOT!Proved this my WHOLE LIFE! We have a BOND! Christians hav hard time,but WE COULD HELP CHANGE THIS.”
Discussing the civil rights advances in the US in her lifetime, she said: “In my lifetime ive seen many things change ! When i was young it was against law 2 b Gay,4 blk & white 2 mary,women 2 control their Bodies, 4 gays to get married & on & on! Chaz could be out & loved! Anything can change when we make ppl c us loving human beings!”
Cher then appeared to indicate she was leaving the micro-blogging site: “If u can cut me loose because i think we can change what pple believe today then my heart is broken! Maybe im naive to believe everything can change but gay pple have stayed w/me through 40 yrs when every1 else left! If i broke our bond & u hav no love 4 me anymore this is my last txt.
“U hav been my best Friends!My Heart has broken MANYx’s because ive lost 1 of U!I hav Sat w/U til last your LAST BREATH!I will ALWAYS LUV U.”
No further tweets have been sent since last night.
One follower wrote: “I am shocked by the lack of respect for others in social media. Advice to @cher (and others): ‘Think before you tweet'”.
Jake Shears added: “Honey, this gay has all the love in the world for you.”
A hashtag, #PleaseDontLeaveCher, was started to convince the star to stay on Twitter. Some commentators have suggested her account may have been hacked.
Joel Osteen told Oprah Winfrey last year gay people would be accepted into heaven if they “changed”, equating the process with anger management:
