GAY global news

People slam Brendon Urie for comparing Roseanne Barr to kneeling NFL players

Written by gaytourism

Urie is dividing people with recent comments | Photo: YouTube/NME

People are calling out Panic! At the Disco frontman Brendon Urie for comments about Roseanne Barr and kneeling NFL players in a recent interview.

In the same Paper Magazine interview in which Urie came out as pansexual, he also talked about ‘cancel culture’.

This is the idea, often seen on Twitter, of figures saying problematic things and fans ‘canceling’ them.

‘Here’s where I draw the line,’ he began. ‘If the liberals are saying, “Hey why are you fining these NFL players [for kneeling during the anthem]?” and at the same time, “Fire Roseanne!,” they are doing the exact same thing that the conservatives are doing.’

In May, ABC canceled their reboot of Roseanne after star Roseanne Barr made racist comments about Valerie Jarrett, a former senior advisor to President Barack Obama.

Urie spoke about ‘taking people’s careers away’.

‘I get it but we have to understand, yes, Roseanne made the worst tweet. But we’re taking people’s careers away. I don’t know where to draw the line because I do think obviously that’s horrible, but I think we need to look at patterns. If a person says something a few times but they are not acting out on it… it’s a very sticky situation.’

Notably, ABC decided to bring the show back — sans Barr — and saved many people’s jobs.

What’s the issue and how are fans reacting?

A lot of people are expressing sadness over Urie’s comments, especially after celebrating his coming out.

Colin Kaepernick was the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers when he ignited a firestorm of controversy in 2016.

When the US national anthem was played before games, he refused to stand and instead kneeled. He did this as form of protest against police brutality shown towards black people in the country.

It prompted other players to kneel — including in different sports, such as soccer player Megan Rapinoe. Fans were split and it also entered the realm of politics, where Donald Trump criticized players who kneeled.

Most recently, the NFL established a new rule where players cannot kneel on field, but they can remain in the locker room for the anthem. If these rules are broken, teams could face fines.

As Twitter user @TanekaStotts continues: ‘Queerness does not absolve bad takes or privileged opinions.’

Other people simply expressed their disappointment.

Other fans are defending the singer.

In 2015, Urie received heat when he compared Caitlyn Jenner to Rachel Dolezal (a white woman who said she was black and ‘transracial’) during a periscope.

Urie later said he ‘didn’t mean to offend anyone’.

Got a news tip? Want to share your story? Email us .