Schlessinger Apologizes for Gay Comments

The cultural battle over advice maven Dr. Laura Schlessinger escalated Friday, with the radio personality bowing to pressure from the gay and lesbian community and apologizing for negative remarks she has made regarding homosexuality.

Even as Schlessinger made that concession, however, two gay and lesbian groups announced they will protest outside Paramount Pictures in Hollywood over its plans to showcase the host in a new nationally syndicated television show.

StopDrLaura.com, a recently formed campaign that has published phone numbers for Paramount executives on its Web site, and the Horizons Foundation, a San Francisco-based gay and lesbian community group, said they intend to picket Paramount on March 21. The studio, they say, is providing Schlessinger a wider forum for what they perceive as her anti-gay views.

At the same time, Schlessinger--after retaining the services of a crisis management public relations firm--issued a statement saying that many of her comments have been misconstrued but that she did not intend to “contribute in any way to an atmosphere of hate or intolerance. Regrettably, some of the words I’ve used have hurt some people, and I am sorry for that.”

On her radio show, Schlessinger has referred to homosexuals as “deviant” and “a biological error.” She has also advocated controversial “reparative therapies” designed to help homosexuals “attain a heterosexual life.”

Some of those comments have also been removed from Schlessinger’s Internet site.

Schlessinger’s statement and the call to protest her show occurred almost simultaneously, with both sides professing no knowledge of the other’s actions.

Among those who have spoken out against the proposed TV program are David Lee, co-creator of the hit NBC series “Frasier,” which is produced by Paramount. Several other studio employees have expressed a sense of betrayal regarding Paramount’s involvement in the project.

John Aravosis, a spokesman for the StopDrLaura.com campaign, said Schlessinger’s apology was hollow and the protest would go forward.

“If this were Dr. Laura calling her own show, she’d be berated for this apology,” he said.

Echoing a sentiment expressed in the past, Aravosis maintained that Paramount would not distribute a program featuring a host who has espoused openly anti-black or anti-Semitic rhetoric.

Paramount declined to comment on the protest, but it released a statement saying the studio has “a long history” of supporting civil and human rights as well as free speech.

Schlessinger recently retained Sitrick and Co., a public relations firm that specializes in crisis situations, to deal with the controversy. However, Sitrick principal Allan Mayer said that relationship was terminated Thursday. The statement Friday was issued by Schlessinger’s personal spokeswoman, Keven Bellows.

Schlessinger’s radio show, which focuses on issues of morality, is heard on more than 400 radio stations nationwide, including KFI-AM (640) locally. Slated to make its debut in September, the daytime television program has been sold to TV stations blanketing more than 90% of U.S. homes.

It will air on CBS-owned stations in most major cities, including Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, one of the nation’s largest gay lobbying organizations, has been engaged in a dialogue with Paramount regarding the TV show. A GLAAD spokesman said the group has yet to decide whether it will take part in the public protest.