Gays protest plans for 'Dr. Laura' TV talk show

Protesters rally Tuesday against Paramount Pictures' plans to televise talk-show host Laura "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger's internationally syndicated radio show

March 21, 2000
Web posted at: 5:26 p.m. EST (2226 GMT)

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Holding placards and chanting outside Paramount Pictures' gates, nearly 500 gay and lesbian demonstrators Tuesday protested the studio's plans to televise a show featuring radio talk-show host Laura "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger.

Meanwhile, across the street from Paramount, a smaller group rallied in support of the show and Schlessinger, who's come under fire recently for statements critical of homosexuality.

Schlessinger, who's called gays and lesbians "deviants" and "biological errors" on her radio show, should not be given TV time, said protesters. They characterized themselves as a coalition of groups, including the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and religious organizations, plus individuals within the Hollywood community.

Demonstrators don't advocate censorship, said Joan Garry, speaking for the gay and lesbian alliance. But, she added, "freedom of speech does not give one a free license to denigrate and defame one community, and Laura does that time and time again."

Schlessinger's show is internationally syndicated, and heard by approximately 18 million listeners daily.

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Paramount's plans also angered David Lee, a producer of "Cheers" and producer and co-creator of "Wings" and "Frasier." Lee said he'd driven proudly through the studios' gates for 15 years -- until he learned of the Schlessinger show. Now, Lee said, he feels a sense of betrayal.

But others rallied behind Parmount. About 15 to 20 supporters of Schlessinger and the studio held placards encouraging the show. Schlessinger, they said, speaks for a majority of Americans.

Show slated for 160 TV markets

Paramount Television, a unit of Paramount Pictures, says it remains committed to the show, which it has already sold in more than 160 markets across the United States in advance of its fall debut.

In an interview last year on CNN's "Larrry King Live," Schlessinger defended some of her controversial views.

"I think a society needs a structure, and I think the structure for society throughout all times that there's been humanity is the family unit," she said. "A man and a woman, with a covenant with God and children."

Now, with protesters clamoring against her show, Schlessinger is remaining silent, standing by an earlier statement that "one inviolate truth is that I never intended to hurt anyone or contribute in any way to an atmosphere of hurt or intolerance. Regrettably, some of the words I've used have hurt some people, and I am sorry for that."

Those comments were intended as a "clarification" rather than an apology, Schlessinger told the Boston Herald last week.

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