This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Fox News, already reeling from its ejection of popular anchor Tucker Carlson, has come completely out of the closet, as it were, using its programming and on-air talent to celebrate LGBT "Pride Month" like never before.
The self-styled "fair and balanced" network, based in heavily gay-populated New York City, has long supported homosexual advocacy behind the scenes through its annual contributions to an LGBT "journalists association."
But in the last two years, it began celebrating "pride" in June by running pro-LGBT "puff pieces" that are every bit as one-sided as those produced by left-leaning networks like CNN and ABC.
This includes, shockingly, a June 2022 piece promoting opposite-sex "gender transitions" for children that regurgitates transgender-activist talking points without providing the "balance" of an opposing viewpoint. As with several other segments airing under Fox's celebration of "LGBTQ+ Pride Month," that story about trans teen Ryland Whittington was reported by the network's openly homosexual reporter, Bryan Llenas.
With Fox's blessing, Llenas appears to be coming into his own as the network's chief on-air, LGBT ambassador, using his role in the corporation to produce segments overflowing
Fox News earned rare praise from its nemesis, left-wing media watchdog Media Matters For America, for the segment, while conservatives who have been outspoken against the "trans" agenda targeting children, were outraged.
Media Matters quoted Ben Shapiro, Daily Wire editor emeritus, who called the Fox segment “the most disturbing thing I’ve seen in quite a while.”
g with gay- and trans-activist jargon, thus coming off more as a "gay" cheerleader than an impartial journalist.
Below is Llenas' story on Whittington, a biological female who announced she was a "boy" at age five and whose parents support her "transition." The piece, now included in Fox News' growing collection of "Pride Month" videos, features Ryland's mother, who says, citing the potential of her gender-confused daughter's potential suicide, that she had to choose between having a living "transgender" "son” and a dead (non-trans) daughter – a false choice, say conservative critics:
"What extraordinary courage displayed by Ryland, his sister Brynnley, father Jeff, and mom Hillary," Llenas gushed in the segment that first ran on Fox's "America's Newsroom" show. "I want to thank the Whittington family for speaking to us. It's not easy, particularly at a time when transgender issues have been politicized.
"People are afraid of what they do not understand, Dana," Llenas said, condescendingly, to then-"Newsroom" co-host Dana Perino: "This family hopes their story will lead to more understanding, more acceptance, and, ultimately, more love."
Conservative media critic Cliff Kincaid, founder and president of America's Survival, said, "Fox News funds the homosexual lobby and has abandoned ‘fair & balanced’ coverage of the LGBTQ agenda and the GOP’s lack of serious opposition to it."
Kincaid, who has tracked Fox's leftward drift on LGBT issues for decades, cited the Ryland Whittington story: "The channel's current LGBT Pride 'Celebrating Diversity' promotion on its website even highlights a Fox story about a ‘transgender teen’ who began ‘transitioning’ at the age of five and whose mother says it was God’s will.”
Working directly against its brand
It appears that Fox News was just getting started with that one-sided 2022 "Pride Month" pro-trans piece. Since then, and perhaps especially with its p0st-Tucker realignment under CEO Suzanne Scott, the network is doubling down with its pro-LGBT advocacy in the name of "pride."
It was Scott who hired trans advocate "Caitlyn" (formerly Bruce) Jenner as a contributor in March 2022, while raising eyebrows on the right with her comment: "Caitlyn’s story is an inspiration to us all. She is a trailblazer in the LGBTQ+ community and her illustrious career spans a variety of fields that will be a tremendous asset for our audience."
The network's timing is curious, as the ramped-up Fox "pride" celebrations come just when everyday Americans are protesting LGBT-activist excesses committed in the name of "pride" and "equality" like never before.
Recent weeks have seen two highly successful conservative boycotts of the pro-transgender retail chain Target (for selling trans "tucking" swimsuits and "pride" clothing for little children), and the makers of Bud Light beer, which aligned with TikTok "trans" influencer Dylan Mulvaney as a brand ambassador in one of the most catastrophic marketing decisions ever made by a major corporation.
One of the stunning aspects of Fox News' executives' now very public embrace of homosexual/transgender "pride" is that it directly undermines some of the talking points of their own conservative talk-show hosts, who are already suffering rating losses due to the sudden ouster of the network's one-time top talker, Carlson. The aftermath of that action and Fox's attempts to silence Carlson have led many conservatives to boycott the network.
Although Fox has largely sidestepped coverage of the homosexual issue – but not transgender issues – as a cultural controversy in recent years, up until recently it had avoided the over-the-top LGBT cheerleading of many "mainstream" news networks.
Below Fox's rising star Jesse Watters assails the left's aggressive push for LGBT activism in schools:
Back when he was Fox's leading host, Carlson worked to expose the trans agenda, especially as it affected kids, as in this interview with ex-trans "detransitioner" Helena Kerschner:
Llenas was at it again with another Fox News "pride" advocacy piece featuring Billy Bean, the first openly homosexual Major League Baseball player. In the piece, the reporter expresses disappointment that more professional ballplayers have not "come out" as gay, but he gives Bean ample opportunity to shill for out-and-proud homosexuality in the national pastime – while completely avoiding the controversy of whether once-wholesome sporting events attended by many impressionable children should be promoting aberrant sexual and gender-bending themes.
Llenas glowingly describes Bean as follows: "Today, he is the senior vice-president in charge of diversity, equity, and inclusion for MLB, working to ensure the league is ready to support the next 'Billy Bean.'"
Then Bean says: "When I started [in 2014] there were only two teams that had an official 'Pride Night,' and now we have almost the entire league, and every club – all 30 – are participating in our educational programming for their players."
Promoting gay Democrats
In another one-sided Fox News "Pride Month" story, Llenas ventured to Colorado to interview Jared Polis, a Democrat, and the nation's first openly homosexual governor. Not a word critical of Polis is uttered, as Llenas and Polis happily discuss the state's (and the nation's) first same-sex "First Gentleman," Polis' homosexual "husband," Marlon Reis. Llenas states how Colorado used to be called the "Hate State" after passing a statewide measure banning "sexual orientation" laws.
