Queer Broadway producer slams ‘deeply disturbing’ questions about whether Pete Buttigieg is gay enough
Pete Buttigieg kissing his husband Chasten. (Ethan Miller/Getty)
Queer Broadway producer Richie Jackson has slammed members of the LGBT+ community who have questioned whether Pete Buttigieg is “gay enough”.
Speaking on the Washington Post‘s “Cape Up with Jonathan Capehart” podcast, Jackson said that queer people who question Buttigieg’s gay credentials are “absurd.”
“The whether he’s gay enough, I find deeply disturbing,” Jackson said.
“First of all, definitionally, he’s gay. He’s married to a man. He served under ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ That’s gay.”
Queer Broadway producer Richie Jackson says Pete Buttigieg faces same discrimination as other gay men.
“Here’s an easy question. Would LGBTQ hate groups consider Pete gay enough to discriminate against? Yes. Would our adversaries consider him gay enough? Yes. Could he be fired in all those states? Yes.
“Can he give blood? No. Does he have to be careful where he’s holding Chasten’s hand? Yes. So he is definitionally gay because everything that’s stacked up against us is stacked up against him, too,” he added.
Jackson continued: “Think about all the conversations that are going on about him now in classrooms, in homes and all these young people who may not understand all their feelings, who may not have told anybody about their feelings.
The whether he’s gay enough, I find deeply disturbing.
“But here is this gay man, who is a top-tier contender for the presidency, who is traveling around the country campaigning with his husband.
“That is life-saving for young people to see that there is possibility for them in this world.”
Buttigieg’s popularity has divided the LGBT+ community.
Buttigieg is currently one of the forerunners for the Democratic nomination for the presidential election, which will take place later this year.
The openly gay former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has divided opinion in the LGBT+ community. Some, like Jackson, see his candidacy as a win for queer rights and visibility. However, others have attacked him for his centrist policies.
Meanwhile, a poll conducted in November of last year found that Buttigieg was far from the most popular candidate among LGBT+ Democrats. Elizabeth Warren came out on top for queer voters, followed by Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. Buttigieg trailed in fourth place at that time.
