HBO's failure to
broadcast the Reverend Gene Robinson's invocation
at the pre-inaugural celebration for President Obama at the
Lincoln Memorial on Sunday was due to a
miscommunication within the Presidential Inaugural
Committee, according to the cable network.
The participation
of Robinson -- the openly gay Episcopal bishop of New
Hampshire -- was seen as a counter to the inclusion of
homophobic reverend Rick Warren in the inauguration
ceremonies. But HBO's televised presentation of the
event omitted Robinson's prayer, which was already
dogged by audio problems.
On Monday, HBO
released a statement saying: "Rev. Robinson's
invocation was not included in the live presentation due to
a miscommunication within the Presidential Inaugural
Committee. Says Presidential Inaugural Committee
communications director Josh Earnest: 'We had always
intended and planned for Rt. Rev. Robinson's invocation to
be included in the televised portion of yesterday's program.
We regret the error in executing the plan -- but are
gratified that hundreds of thousands of people who
gathered on the mall heard his eloquent prayer for our
nation that was a fitting start to our event."
An updated
version of the event -- titled We Are One: The
Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
-- will air on Wednesday at 11:30 p.m.
Eastern/Pacific, Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m.
Pacific, and Sunday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern/Pacific and will
feature Robinson's invocation and all of the original
performances.
Previously, HBO
had blamed the blackout on a decision made by Obama's transition team. (Neal Broverman,
Advocate.com)
