Gay Christian TV
Show Host to Have Tumor Removed

The gay host of a popular Christian TV talk show was admitted into Baptist Hospital's emergency room Saturday night in Nashville, diagnosed with a tumor. Azariah Southworth was taken to the hospital around midnight after a friend lightly tapped a bump on his arm, prompting it to bleed profusely. Southworth wrote in his MySpace blog on Sunday that the bump was "a dime size in diameter" and purple-looking.

Doctors were not sure what the growth was, but Southworth said that it had been present on his arm for a year, growing in size. He is scheduled to have surgery next week to have it removed and checked for cancer.

Southworth, host of Christian youth TV show The Remix, announced he was gay in Out & About newspaper in Nashville.

"I know this will end my career in Christian television, but I must now live my life openly and honestly with everyone," Southworth said in the interview in April.

On the weekly half-hour show, Southworth spends time with a Christian musician or band for a window into their lives. The show has been syndicated for a year and a half, and it reaches approximately 200,000 viewers. The show was canceled by three Christian networks shortly after Southworth came out. (The Advocate)