Ellen Page Called Out Chris Pratt’s ‘Homophobic’ Church Long Before the Internet Dubbed Him the Worst Chris
There are so many “Hollywood Chrises” that it’s become a silly, and outplayed, game to pick the worst and best. While everyone’s opinions are different, and some might find one Chris more attractive than others — typically the list consists of Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Chris Pine, and Chris Pratt — the “Worst Chris” became a big spectacle recently.
Public opinion of Pratt has been declining for a bit, but this new poll wasn’t the first instance where Pratt was called out. Ellen Page’s criticisms of the actor last year are actually a major reason why people do list him as the “Worst Chris.”
A recent Twitter poll caused Marvel co-stars to come to the actor’s defense
TV producer Amy Berg tweeted one of those “One has to go” Chris posts that pop up every few months on Oct. 17. A lot of people jumped on Pratt, again, and for his alleged conservative political stances.
A lot of his Marvel co-stars came to his defense, including Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, James Gunn, and Zoe Saldana. The main thesis among all of their posts was that Pratt is a “good guy” and being outwardly Christian isn’t cause for hate.
However, the majority of criticism from the internet didn’t come from hating on him for being Christian. But rather was for going to a church with homophobic ties.
Ellen Page criticized Pratt and his church as being ‘infamously anti lgbtq’
While it’s alleged or assumed that Pratt is conservative or a Donald Trump supporter, that isn’t something he’s spoken on. However, he does attend Zoe Church in Los Angeles. And Page called Pratt out on it last year.
Pratt appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in February 2019, and talked about how he just finished The Daniel Fast through his church. He described how it derived from the Book of Daniel and consisted of really only fruits and vegetables.
Page called out Pratt’s church on Twitter, writing, “Oh. K. Um. But his church is infamously anti lgbtq so maybe address that too?”
The following day, on Feb. 9, the Umbrella Academy star also wrote two more tweets.
If you are a famous actor and you belong to an organization that hates a certain group of people, don’t be surprised if someone simply wonders why it’s not addressed. Being anti LGBTQ is wrong, there aren’t two sides. The damage it causes is severe. Full stop. Sending love to all
She went on to write that the LGBTQ community shared the pain Zoe Church and its affiliate Hillsong Church inflicted on them as members. She urged others to “try and listen” and “open your heart, stop being defensive and have compassion.”
As Refinery29 reported, Zoe Church’s leader is past Hillsong Church pastor Chad Veach. And according to The Daily Beast, Veach produced a film that equated homosexuality to “sexual brokenness.”
Pratt said that that true, but ex-church members side with Page
Pratt did respond a few days later on his Instagram story. On Feb. 11, Pratt posted that “Nothing could be further from the truth,” in regards to whether his church was anti-LGBTQ, according to CNN. “I go to a church that opens their doors to absolutely everyone.”
He then went on to say that the church and leadership within were supportive during his divorce to actor Anna Faris. Divorce can sometimes be looked down on in different churches. However, he isn’t a member of the LGBTQ community. And actual former members and researchers say that the Hillsong church was deeply homophobic.
As The Daily Beast wrote, one gay member, Clifford Jacobs, noted how there was no mention of the LGBTQ community in the speakers nor any leaders who were gay. That, along with the bad research he found made him leave. And then writer Lea Ceasrine wrote about their “retrograde” principles that push “traditional” marriage. She’s straight but noticed these bad practices that also made her leave the church.
Writer Clarkisha Kent said that she was a fan of one of the bands associated with Hillsong and listened to them a lot in high school. But then dug more and discovered that they weren’t welcoming toward the LGBTQ community. However, their love songs weren’t outwardly homophobic.
“I didn’t know, being a young queer, what their actual messages were,” Kent said. “Hillsong is a very good study on how to package bigotry.”
