Gay Men's Chorus Hits Back at Fox News Hit Piece

The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles is responding to a contentious article from Fox News that criticized several LGBT organizations and projects that received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. The piece, written by former Breitbart editor Adam Shaw, is titled "NEA Gives Thousands in Federal Grants to Transgender Plays, Rosie O'Donnell's Theater Group."

"We were stunned to find ourselves mentioned in an article that was so clearly written as hate clickbait," GMCLA executive director Jonathan Weedman said in a statement, ""We are grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts for the grant to help us continue this vital work, that is obviously more important today than at any other time in GMCLA's 40-year history."

The article claims that "the National Endowment for the Arts is pouring tens of thousands of dollars into left-wing art projects including plays about transgenderism,"and criticizes how "the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles picked up a $10,000 grant for a national tour of a new work 'to deliver a message of acceptance for young people.'"

The chorus has denounced the article on social media with a statement that says the article "focused solely on gay, lesbian, transgender and other organizations whose programs and works support artistic endeavors in those communities." The chorus also lashed out against the subtext of the editorial: "The story refers to these works as 'left-wing art projects' and implies that these organizations are producing works that do not reflect true American values."

"For nearly 40 years, the mission of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles has been to entertain audiences with high-quality musical programs and to -- as the story indicates -- deliver a message of acceptance to not just young people but all people and to change hearts and minds through the power of music," said Weedman. "Indeed, we wear that as a badge of honor."