In response to the Fox News organization article published online last Friday denigrating National Endowment For The Arts grant recipients, GMCLA issued the following response this morning:

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles Proud of ‘Vital Work’ Done Over Last 40 Years, In Response to ‘Intolerant Rhetoric” by FOX News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

(LOS ANGELES) – MARCH 18, 2018 – The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA) today denounced an article on the FOX News website about the recent awarding of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts as “intolerant rhetoric” that the organization has made it its mission to combat.

“We were stunned to find ourselves mentioned in an article that was so clearly written as hate clickbait,” said GMCLA Executive Director Jonathan Weedman.

On Friday, March 16, FOX News published on its website a story – written by former Breitbart editor Adam Shaw – that focused solely on gay, lesbian, transgender and other organizations whose programs and works support artistic endeavors in those communities. The story refers to these works as “left-wing art projects” and implies that these organizations are producing works that do not reflect true American values.
Included in the story is this paragraph: The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles picked up a $10,000 grant of a national tour of a new work “to deliver a message of acceptance for young people.”

“For nearly 40 years, the mission of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles has been to entertain audiences with high-quality musical programs and to – as the story indicates – deliver a message of acceptance to not just young people but all people and to change hearts and minds through the power of music,” said Weedman. “Indeed, we wear that as a badge of honor.”

The Trevor Project reports that LGBT kids are three times more likely to contemplate suicide than their heterosexual counterparts and in a national study, 40% of transgender adults report having attempted suicide. GMCLA’s mission is to ensure that everyone – gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, transgender – feel accepted for who they truly are.

“We are grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts for the grant to help us continue this vital work, that is obviously more important today than at any other time in GMCLA’s 40-year history,” Weedman concluded.

For more information, visit www.gmcla.org, or call (424) 239-6514.

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