Shortly after green-lighting a project from twin realtors David and Jason Benham, Flip It Forward, HGTV decided to put a pin in it thanks to their history of homophobia.
In one brief tweet, HGTV said yesterday that it had decided "not to move forward" with Flip it Forward. The show possibly conflicted with an upcoming furniture design show produced by Ellen DeGeneres, Ellen's Design Challenge.
Or HGTV may have just realized who their audience is -- after all, ESPN this is not. Either way, the Benhams helped to organize a prayer rally back in 2012 that condemned the "homosexual agenda," among other "demonic" practices. David Benham also campaigned for North Carolina's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions, Amendment One:
In North Carolina, you know, we just fought for Amendment One, which was a constitutional amendment that simply said, this is exactly what the amendment said is the only legal marriage in North Carolina was between a man and a woman. We received--it was such a battle in North Carolina, it blew me away.
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We will always finger point but we don't realize that OK if 87% of Americans are Christians and yet we have abortion on demand; we have no-fault divorce; we have pornography and perversion; we have a homosexuality and its agenda that is attacking the nation; we have adultery; we have all of the things; we even have allowed demonic ideologies to take our universities and our public school systems while the church sits silent and just builds big churches.
In a statement, the Benham Brothers denied being anti-gay and expressed holier-than-thou sadness over HGTV's decision:
"The first and last thought on our minds as we begin and end each day is; have we shined Christ's light today? Our faith is the fundamental calling in our lives, and the centerpiece of who we are. As Christians we are called to love our fellow man. Anyone who suggests that we hate homosexuals or people of other faiths is either misinformed or lying.
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"We were saddened to hear HGTV's decision. With all of the grotesque things that can be seen and heard on television today you would think there would be room for two twin brothers who are faithful to our families, committed to biblical principles, and dedicated professionals. If our faith costs us a television show then so be it."
