BOB D'AMICO/ABCGLAAD still isn't happy with The View.
ABC has finally responded to the gay media watchdog group's plea that the daytime talk show correct comments about HIV and AIDS made by Sherri Shepherd and guest host, comedian D.L. Hughley, during its June 22 episode…
A statement from ABC released to CNN late yesterday reads, "[D]uring a discussion about blood donation and the transmission of HIV/AIDS, a guest moderator on the show expressed his interpretation of data about one way the virus can be transmitted. The topic of HIV/AIDS has been raised many times over the show's 13 years, with many voices and opinions contributing to a conversation that we expect to continue as long as The View is on the air."
Hughley's so-called interpretation was to blame black men who are secretly gay (AKA, "on the down low") for the prevalence of HIV in the African-American community. "It's primarily young women who are getting it from men who are on the down low," he said.
However, the Centers for Disease Control has publicly stated that the spread of HIV by closeted black men to straight women is more myth than fact.
GLAAD not only requested an on-air correction shortly after the episode aired, but also took out a full-page ad in entertainment trade publication Variety on Monday. The open letter to ABC and the show was also signed by the Black AIDS Institute and the National Black Justice Coalition.
GLAAD continues to urge supporters to contact ABC and The View. Describing ABC's statement as "evasive," Cindi Craeger, GLAAD's director of national news, posted on the organization's website earlier today, "This program reaches millions of viewers and ABC must ensure that its platforms are not used to perpetuate dangerous falsehoods that put our community in harm's way."
Keep track of everything celebrity by following Marc Malkin on Facebook and Twitter.
________
In completey different—and much lighter—news, did you hear whose three-old son now has a Twitter page? Find out here.