Its a bummer about Summer

[boogie nites]

I don't know what the gay-straight ratio of the members of this site is, but even if ur str8, does anyone care to tell me what Donna Summer said about gay people? I heard it was "against her religion" (don't get me started on THAT), and I don't know if I should support her or not. I acknowledge her (or at least Giorgios) music, and I know thats all we should judge music on, but if there was a KKK member at the top of the Top 500 list...well, I don't have to say more. Its pretty fucking rude to diss the very people who bought her records. Anyone?

[NickNack]

Hi boogie nites,

I'm not sure if you'll get a lot of hits on this one because we've been here before... more than once.

In a nutshell, most here (I think) believe the rumor got out of control because no where is what she said actually in print. (If I get this wrong guys, jump in.) I think Ms. Summer's stand is what she did say was taken out of context and exploited.

When I can I'll search back through the forums and link you to the discussions that already took place. Give me a little time though --- there's no "search" function I can use. :D

[Robbie]

Donna said some things supposedly during the 1980s that were perceived as critical of homosexuality. Keep in mind that she became a "born-again" Christian around the time she left Casablanca records so I wouldn't be surprised if she was trying to distance herself from one part of her audience/following and made those comments. Heck, I still enjoy John Lennon records even if I think that Yoko was a Marxist who had him on a dog leash for over a decade.

[DiscoMan]

This rumor is at least 20 years old.
No one ever said or wrote what she supposedly said.
It was a rumor that got totally out of control and she addressed the entire situation publicly many years ago (I remember watching her press conference). Let it drop.

[boogie nites]

Thanks to all your replies, but I think its a little hypocritical for DiscoMan to say that it is over 20 years old as if anything people look at on this site is brand new. I don't mean that to sound as bitchy as that, but I was just interested in what she said. Surely, everyone on this part of the forum gets off on the songs of the "disco period", you know what I mean the golden years of the early 70s to early 80s and when I hear something that I have just discovered, like Donna Summer (I'm 19), I read up about the artist. And being gay, and an athiest, her supposed views don't entice me to buy any more of her records. I am not living in the past, and if she has retracted her statements, then I guess I can move on, but I am part of a community that has been involved in repression, and if someone I like is against me..well then I am being hypocritical. PEACE!! and thanks 4 ALL of your replies. :D

[DiscoMan]

hypocritical

A little strong :-?
I didn't realize that you were so young. As far as I'm concerned it's been a non-issue since her press conference.
Ya gotta do what ya gotta do :D
Peace!

[boogie nites]

:D :D :D

[Funky Dude]

I've read all about this Donna Summer story in this forum and on sites a couple of years back as well as watched it on "Behind The Music" and I personally think that these allegations made against her are a load of ratshit. I personally don't believe she said that crap at that concert, it is not her style even if she was a born again Christian. From what I read someone mis-interpreted what she said and thought she said something else and everything snowballed from there and the bloody tabloid wankers as usual make it headline news.

Anyhow if she really said what she said at the concert then she would be slamming her very best mate Paul Jabara whom died of AIDS in the mid 1990s. Also she's done so many concerts to raise charity money to help AIDS sufferers too.

I reckon the mis-interpretation of what she REALLY said at that concert plus her becoming a born again Christian really stuffed things up for her completely back then. The fact that she became a CHRISTIAN, would of made people automatically think she really is homophobic because of the fact that in the old days many Christians were homophobic.

I know this site is strictly no politics and religion, so edit or delete this post if you must Bernie or Nicky, but I felt it was important to mention about the Christian factor implicating peoples perception of her as being homophobic.

Anyhow all I can say is SHE'S INNOCENT!!!

[BrunoRepublic]

She did admit to making remarks about AIDS before she had any idea what it was or the seriousness of it. She has apologized for this many times.

Giorgio Moroder stated in an interview that during the early 80s, her religious faith became almost fanatical, and she distanced herself from many of her fans, her supporters in the industry, and the image that she had built up. He was aghast that she insisted on including a song about Jesus on "The Wanderer". She was very much at odds with David Geffen... to quote Moroder "He was absolutely gay, she was absolutely religious, and they hated each other". So, reports of her being somewhat intolerant at the time may not be entirely fabricated. However, she certainly isn't that way now.

[SandraDee]

Apparently Donna went through some kind of dreadful nervous breakdown/ depression in the early 80's & spent 2 or 3 years in a very confused state. I get the feeling that the world-wide 'queen of disco' iconography was too much for her to live up to when all she wanted originally was to earn a decent living being a working singer. You only have to hear her in interviews to see she's most definitely not in that Madonna/Diana Ross
ruthless/ambitious 'diva'/superstar style; she comes over as very ordinary & down to earth (if I was bitchy, I'd say she lacks personality but u know me better than that! :roll: )

[StuckIn1979]

They were not "rumors" I remember her disparaging coments.

[markydefad]

Ah, it's all being dredged up again!!!!!! :roll:

Even The Village Voice's Michael Musto did a mock Donna Summer quote recently...the infamous "God made Adam & Eve, NOT Adam & Steve". :o

How clever. True? Who knows. Some say she did; others say she didn't ;others say whatever she said was taken outta context. We did about 20 pages of a thread on this subject a few years ago. We found documents on the www. about the controversy.

We sorta concluded that she didn't actually make the "disparaging remarks". Who knows?

[NickNack]

They were not "rumors" I remember her disparaging coments.

OK --- I'll bite. How do you remember them? Did you hear them directly? Did you read them and, if so, where? Or, were you told about her comments by someone else?

[Rab]

They were not "rumors" I remember her disparaging coments.

OK --- I'll bite. How do you remember them? Did you hear them directly? Did you read them and, if so, where? Or, were you told about her comments by someone else?

OK NickNack, yes I DID HEAR HER SAY DISPARAGING THINGS ABOUT GAYS...YES, ITS TRUE. I am not a Donna Summer basher, I am not someone who boycotts her music. I own all her LP's, and many of her 12" singles. I did hear her say it on a Boston radio station back in the early 80's. It was her, not someone pretending to be her. And to tell you the truth it really doesn't matter; because if she honestly doesn't consider herself a homophobe today, then she did evolve and progress. People make mistakes. Sadly, there are people who irrationally equate sexual orientation with morality, and justify their bigotry based on archaic beliefs. Fortunately, many of these people do become educated, and realize whe're just like anybody else, and didn't become this way because we're pathological.

[NickNack]

Hi Rab,

I remembered on our last go 'round about Donna that someone had said he/she heard the remarks directly. I thought it might have been StuckIn1979 so I wanted some elaboration for boogie nites sake. Looks like it was you. Thanks for stepping up.

[boogie nites]

Fair enough. I agree with Funky Dudes remarks. The aforementioned group in his post are certainly not on my popularity lists either. If she apologised then I guess I am over it. And the media is bullshit, you're right.

[Funky Dude]

After reading what some of the people said, I suppose Donna Summer was mislead by those old homophobic bible basher priests (who gave that religion a bad name) when becoming Christian which might of lead her to think that way about homosexuality. But she certainly isn't like that today. Well all I can say is we can't condemn her to death for what she said 20 years ago especially for the fact she doesn't think that way today. It be like getting one of those red hot metal cattle branders and branding "homophobic" on Donna's forehead which leaves a permanent scar. We're all human and we all make mistakes. Nobody's perfect.