I Don’t Hate Chris Pratt, But I Expected More
By: Joelle N
Tags: Celebrity, LGBTQ, Equality, Activism, Religion

I support everyone’s right to live a happy, whole, balanced life.

If that means church for you, I hope you continue to get your butt to church. However, in failing to use their influence to disavow the homophobic and sexist values of their church, these celebrities are failing to do the same for me and countless others.

How can you know that you are bolstering the reputation and popularity of an institution that is actively damaging people, and not be enraged? How can you see something right before your eyes and not be moved to say something? This is where the neutral stance of people like Pratt becomes baffling to me because it doesn’t feel neutral at all. It feels like witnessing a crime and looking the other way.

How can you know that you are bolstering the reputation and popularity of an institution that is actively damaging people, and not be enraged?

I have never been one to suggest that people be judged by what they do and don’t speak up about on social media. For those of us who don’t frequent social media in general, this is a pretty unfair barometer. But if we’re going to lend public support to an institution whose beliefs we hopefully recognize are hateful, we can at least remain enough within our integrity to be transparent about that.

Saying you disagree with someone — or, in this case, something — doesn’t have to mean cancelling it. Any one of these celebrities could come out and say that they disagree with some of Hillsong’s values, and would like to see them change. Or, better yet, that until they see the kind of growth that’s worthy of their personal faith, they’ll be looking for another church to attend.

All we have heard so far is vague assurances that their church accepts everyone. No dissent or disagreement. And by not clearly and openly dissenting to hate, I would argue that these celebrities are not only not doing a good job of loving their LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters — they are also not loving their church to the degree they are capable of. As any adult knows, sometimes love means holding someone accountable: not to how they have been acting, but to who we know they truly are and can be. And the only way to hold someone accountable without controlling them is to stand firm in your own truth.

By not clearly and openly dissenting to hate, I would argue that these celebrities are not only not doing a good job of loving their LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters — they are also not loving their church to the degree they are capable of.

Structures only change when enough people demand it.

Whether this happens from the inside or the outside, the effect is the same. Though I understand why many would like to see Hillsong cancelled, and have felt that way myself, we can’t always control how other people live their lives and whether or not they choose to be involved with institutions. What we can do is remain true to ourselves and our values wherever we go, and encourage others to do the same. This is how we change the world from the inside out.

Pratt has said that he wishes people would “focus more on what unites us instead of what divides us.” This probably isn’t a sentence that would come out of my mouth, because I’m built differently, but I recognize the important place it has in our discourse. I see the values that Pratt brings to the table and I respect them. Life is hard, and sometimes our support structures, whether they be family, friends, church, or other institutions, are genuine life-savers. In the deepest sense, all we really have is each other. Never has that fact been clearer than right now.

We all need to do a better job of taking care of each other so we can move forward together. But that means being bold in not allowing ANYONE to be left out or left behind.

If we are going to claim to see each other as family, we must stand up for each other the way family would. Fiercely, relentlessly, with our whole hearts–and not always so goddamn nicely.