FREAK OF THE WEEK: Ted Haggard

This week, the FredBlog shines the freaklight on Ted Haggard, the former pastor at a Colorado megachurch and former leader of the religious right, who just can’t stop talking about how he is a “heterosexual with issues.”

Haggard fell from grace in 2006 after male prostitute Mike Jones couldn’t take Haggard’s hypocrisy any longer. You see, while Haggard was preaching against homosexuality, he was secretly paying Jones for sex.

After that, you would think Haggard would simply skulk out of the spotlight and stay there. But no, Haggard is back with a vengeance. Last week, to promote a new HBO documentary about him, Haggard did more media interviews than Rod Blagojevich. And he couldn’t stop saying stupid things.

When asked by everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Larry “for the full hour” King if he is gay, straight, or bisexual, Haggard would only say that he is a “heterosexual with issues.” Honey, we all have issues. You are either gay or bisexual and you can’t accept it – THAT’S your issue!

He told Oprah, “Sexuality is complicated.” Yes it is. And with that kind of understanding, you would think Haggard would be more sympathetic to sexual minorities. But no – he still clings to his religion-fueled view that married heterosexuality is the ideal toward which we should all strive.

He told Larry that he never was the kind of preacher to single out homosexuality because “to say [homosexuality] is the exclusive bad sin is wrong.” So being gay is just one out of an entire smorgasbord of sins? Thanks Ted.

When Oprah asked Haggard how his former parishioners felt about welcoming him back to the flock, Haggard said, “They were effervescent.” Show me a heterosexual man who describes others as “effervescent.”

And he told both of them that he still thinks about having sex with men, but because of therapy, he is now able to control and resist those urges. Yeah, because if you are attracted to people of the same sex and you want to have sex with them, but you don’t do it, you’re not gay anymore.

Best of all, Haggard’s wife Gayle told Larry, “There are many facets of this story that have yet to be told.” Can’t wait for those extra facets.