Partners CaroleAntouri andNikki Weiss appeared
on The Oprah Winfrey Show on October 2 for
an episode about women who have left their
husbands for other women. In addition to telling Oprah
about their life together, they showed the
talk-show diva their "lipstick kiss," the
thoroughly innocent air kiss they do so as not to ruin
their lipstick.Antouri and
Weiss, who work in marketing and PR and are based in Los
Angeles, enjoyed the experience and received plenty
of positive feedback. However, when conservative
TV personality Joe Scarborough hosted a
discussion of the Oprah episode a few days later
on his nightly MSNBC program, Scarborough
Country, the feedback took a different
tone. Talking with two reporters, one from
Us Weekly and one from The Star, as
well as a representative of the conservative group
Citizens for Community Values, Scarborough raised
objections to the sight of lesbians on TV at a time when
kids could be watching. But the outrageous moment
came when the representative from CCV stated her
belief that gay parenting is the ultimate form of child abuse.Antouri and
Weiss respond.How did you find out about the Scarborough coverage?Weiss:We had gotten
calls that night from friends of ours who said, "You are
all over the news." And I said, "For what?
The show?"And they said,
"Oh, yeah, MSNBC."Antouri:And, honestly,
that night we didn't look up. We didn't think anything
of it. But the next day, more calls, so we finally
went online and watched the clip.Was it emotional to watch it?Antouri:I wasn't even
offended. Sometimes you have to consider the source. I
felt sorry for them--I thought, They're
very isolated. Do they think the clerk at the
grocery story is straight? Do they think the chef
at their favorite restaurant is definitely
straight? I just figure they are uneducated. I
don't want to say anything that sounds angry
because that doesn't make me any better, but I just
think they didn't educate themselves.Weiss:The only thing
that really bothered me was the statement if you have
children and you are gay, that's abusive. That is
what put me over the edge. That's why I wanted to
do this interview.What do you make of Scarborough's claim that
lesbians shouldn't be seen on daytime TV?Weiss:I think this show,
unto itself, would have been very educational for a
child and they probably would have asked a lot of
good questions--and not grown up being
afraid [of homosexuality] and accepting it.And what about your "lipstick kiss"? They were
obsessed with it--and it was so innocent!Weiss:They were very
focused on the whole lipstick kiss. Yet you have shows
like The Bachelor where they're making out with
different women, maybe five a night, and that's
OK. But Carole and I have real feelings for each
other, so I think it's a little bit
threatening for people.Do you know if Oprah said anything about this?Weiss:What we do know
from Oprah is that she really enjoyed the show, as did
all of her staff. And we heard there might be a
follow-up show because there has been so much
attention. She was very thrilled with the show.
