On Friday, radio talk show host Thaddeus Matthews asked his listeners “Is Lee Harris a faggot?” Harris finished first in last Thursday’s election for former Memphis City Council member Barbara Swearengen Ware’s seat, but he must face a run-off with Kemba Ford in the November 10th election because they were only four votes apart.
Why was Matthews, who has a history of stirring controversy, using homophobic slurs against Harris? The equality-supporting candidate appeared in a video on the Memphis Loves Gays website vowing to stand up against discrimination.
Matthews also posted a link on his website to that video with the title “Is Lee Harris Gay?.” He also uses racist slurs against Harris on his site.
Memphis Loves Gays blogger Micheal Hildebrand confronted Matthews in his office to ask him to remove the link to his video interview of Harris. Rather than comply, Hildebrand says Matthews became violent and used homophobic slurs against him. Read all about Hildebrand’s encounter with Matthews and more on this story at TEP’s Grand Divisions blog.
