Homophobic dad speaks about his son coming out as gay in emotional LBC call
LBC host Nick Ferrari took the call from Mark
LBC host Nick Ferrari was left lost for words, after a caller opened up about regretting their homophobic views in an emotional interview.
Ferrari was discussing LGBT+ issues on his show on Friday after comedian Kevin Hart quit as the host of the 2019 Oscars when users exposed his anti-gay Twitter history.
But Ferrari was overcome with emotion after one caller, Mark, said that he held extreme homophobic views until his son came out as gay.
LBC caller Mark said he used to be a ‘gay basher’
The caller said: “I was brought up with a religious view that homosexuality was wrong, disgusting, dirty — I took that to the extreme, I absolutely hated homosexuals.
“I would go to the local area where homosexuals went out, and I used to go bash them. I’m ashamed to say I did that.
“I was quite a repulsive man when it came to homosexuality… I would have rather them died than be homosexual.”
However, Mark’s outlook on life changed five years ago, when his 15-year-old son came out as gay.
He said: “My son would witness the things I would say [about gay people]… one day, I got a call when he was at school, and they said [I needed to come in] and sit down.
“My son sat with four teachers and he said that thought he was gay. I felt absolutely sick and ashamed, not at my son, but at myself.”
“He thought I was going to disown him and wish he was dead, and that broke me down in tears.”
He added: “Within 15-20 seconds of him saying ‘I’m gay,’ it all crashed down, because I knew the reason he told me this at school in front of teachers is because he knew what my beliefs were.
“He thought I was going to disown him and wish he was dead, and that broke me down in tears.”
The LBC caller explained how his views have changed
Mark said: “My son is my son and I love him to pieces. Now, I have the belief it doesn’t matter who you are, what sexuality you are… you still contribute and give to society.
“My outlook has completely reversed.”
LBC host Nick Ferrari took the call from Mark
Mark added: “My son [now 20] goes on the gay scene, and occasionally I go out on the gay scene with him!
“People in that community don’t look at me and say, you should be ashamed of yourself, they look at me and say, it’s amazing you have changed your beliefs and you support your son this much from what you used to be.”
