Well, it's officially LGBTQ+ Pride Month in the USA and several other countries. That means it's time for the cherished annual tradition of conservatives and far-right pundits losing their minds over the existence of LGBTQ+ people.
And this year's right-wing gay panic is kicking off with possibly the most bizarre manufactured controversy they've ever come up with.
According to Grant Stinchfield—who is a news anchor on far-right network Newsmax and not the cartoon villain his name would suggest—Lucky Charms cereal's Lucky the Leprechaun is gay and coming for your kids.
Or something.
You can see his rant here:
"I think General Mills has a gay leprechaun, right?...He wears high heels shoes, prances around in tights - leads me to believe, probably, that little Lucky Charm leprechaun might be gay"pic.twitter.com/THaBfIWtZ3— Jason Campbell (@Jason Campbell) 1622035508
Newsmax has become one of the news channels of choice for conservatives who think Fox News is too liberal.
Stinchfield's strange homophobic rant about a cereal box leprechaun came during a discussion of Kellogg's new so-called "woke" cereal. The Pride-themed product called "Together with Pride"—which supports GLAAD—is composed of rainbow-colored heart shapes and edible glitter.
The cereal has conservatives in a tizzy because the box includes a space for kids to write down their gender pronouns.
When Stinchfield was done sneering and rolling his eyes about the whole thing, he claimed Kellogg's had already been beaten to the LGBTQ+-themed woke punch by competitor General Mills's uber-gay leprechaun character.
Chuckling, Stinchfield claimed:
"...I think General Mills has a gay leprechaun, right? ... [H]e wears high-heeled shoes, prances around in tights, leads me to believe, probably, that little Lucky Charm leprechaun might be gay."
Stinchfield didn't offer an explanation for where he got the idea Lucky wears heels and tights given the image he included onscreen during his rant shows Lucky donning Pilgrim-style shoes and plain old pants.
Instead, he moved on to defending his screed, as if sensing people might take offense to the suggestion all gay people do is "prance around" in tights and heels all day.
"For those of you that want to vilify me for those comments... aren't you just as offended by the flamboyant rainbow hearts and glitter as a symbol of gayness? See, there are two standards here."
Sure Grant.
Whatever you say.
Twitter was not having any of this.
You know how some seniors like to immerse themselves in the 1960's atmosphere to feel comfort and nostalgia? I think Newsmax delivers the same, but for people nostalgic for 2002-era homophobia— C.C. Riddle \ud83c\udf39 (@C.C. Riddle \ud83c\udf39) 1622037125
For folks who love the capitalist free market, the concept of marketing manages to elude them at every turn.— David V\u2744\ufe0f (@David V\u2744\ufe0f) 1622036434
Well, I'm gay, and I'm nothing like the Lucky Charm leprechaun, soo. . .— CF \ud83c\udf4d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf0a (@CF \ud83c\udf4d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf0a) 1622038179
"We need someone like Trump, with lifts in his shoes, elaborate hair, heavy makeup and Spanx, fawning all over the big strong generals right out of Central Casting... you know... a real man's man!"— Kitty Mom (@Kitty Mom) 1622036180
pic.twitter.com/xPHHpOOX5o— maisie \ud83e\uddc8 (@maisie \ud83e\uddc8) 1622214738
It must be a slow news day.— C Dix (@C Dix) 1622115539
Seems like c*nservatives are the snowflakeshttps://twitter.com/jasonscampbell/status/1397544330080964608\u00a0\u2026— Twinkie LaRue (she/they) (@Twinkie LaRue (she/they)) 1622306165
Sure. Be mad at Lucky Charms for being gay if you want to. But this is Fruit Loops erasure.https://twitter.com/JasonSCampbell/status/1397544330080964608\u00a0\u2026— I Am Not the One (@I Am Not the One) 1622163857
Anyway, if you share Stinchfield's outrage over gay cereal or whatever, he has a simple solution for you.
"Switch your kids to granola," the obvious heterosexual breakfast option apparently.