Film

Onward , Chris Pratt, and the Hillsong Church

I need to talk about something that has been on my mind, lately. As some of you know, I am a lover of Disney/Pixar films. Onward premiered on the 6th of this month and I do want to see it. Normally I would be excited to see the film. But, there’s something different with this film, and that difference is named Chris Pratt.

In 2019, Chris Pratt responded to Ellen Page’s comments that the church he attended was anti-LGBTQ and unwelcoming to those who identified as such. In this response, he never once said that he disagrees with an anti-LGBTQ stance. He just vaguely talked about his church.

 

Even that church, Hillsong, released a statement and has a statement on their website about the comments made. They also never explicitly state that they aren’t anti-LGBTQ. Instead they say “We are also a church that adheres to mainstream biblical values shared by the overwhelming majority of evangelical Christian churches around the world”. If you know anything about the Bible, you’ll know that there is a clear stance that it takes in homosexuality. The statement by their founder and Senior Pastor from 2015 is pretty clear, as well as the statement that is entitled “Do I Love Gay People?”. This is the man who is still in charge of said church. His stances, and the stances of the church where he preaches is pretty clear.

And that brings me to my feelings on Onward and pretty much anything else that stars Chris Pratt. The whole situation put a very sour taste in my mouth. I mean, this happened over a year ago, and it’s still something that I think about. It leaves me disheartened that an actor I enjoyed watching has essentially taken this stance. Anti-LGBTQ is wrong. Plain and simple. It is not a matter of opinion or religion. Thinking other human beings deserve less than you because of who they chose to love is wrong.

I hope that I am able to move pass this just to enjoy the film. After all, so many others worked on the film and their work deserves to be seen. But, every time I hear Pratt’s voice, I can’t help but think of the possible discrimination and dislike that may lie behind it.

 

He really is the worst Chris.

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