Tammy Faye Messner, Once Bakker, Keynotes Tampa Gay PrideFest
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The keynote speaker at Tampa's annual PrideFest party may have opened some eyes, but many gays and lesbians have long known Tammy Faye Messner, who used to be Tammy Faye Bakker, as a supporter. She embraced them at a time when the rest of America was fearful of AIDS, say activists who asked her to speak to them Friday night.
The documentary "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" chronicles how Messner and then-husband Jim Bakker, before their downfall driven by his lust, invited those with HIV to tell their stories during their Praise the Lord television ministry in suburban Charlotte, N.C., in the mid-1980s.
Jim Bakker was convicted in 1989 of bilking his television ministry followers of more than $150 million.
Messner apparently never batted a heavily made-up eye at their sexual orientation, urging viewers to accept them with Christian love.
At Friday night's gathering in the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Messner delivered a rousing speech based on her faith that "God loves you just the way you are."
She led the crowd in a chorus of "Jesus Loves Me." She encouraged her audience to repeat a common childhood prayer. And she compared her own tribulations to those experienced by gays who have felt ostracized or ignored.
"I've been called everything by the media but a Christian," she said. "Yet I think God loves unique people.
"Like you, I've suffered. We've all been misunderstood. We've all been made fun of. But I'm not going to allow people who don't like me to rent space in my brain."
The crowd was responsive.
Lloyd Richardson, 28, of Tallahassee, echoed a typical sentiment when he said he was astounded by Messner's commitment to the gay community.
"I mean, she's Jim Bakker's ex-wife," Richardson said. "But God bless her. We need more like her."
Not everyone agreed. Before Messner's arrival, protesters outside the center handed out leaflets proclaiming "Tammy Faye, shame on you!" Among these was Linda McGlade, 49, who described homosexuality as "being up there with murder and greed."
Messner was unruffled when told of the outsiders.
"They need to read what the Bible really says," she said.
Another celebrity at the weekend PrideFest was Lady Chablis, the female impersonator and Pinellas County resident who is in the book and movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."