ABC has finally responded to gay rights group GLAAD over comments made by “The View’s” Sherri Shepherd and guest host D.L. Hughley during a segment last month about black men on the “down low.” However, GLAAD is still not happy.
On the June 22 episode, Shepherd and Hughley blamed the spike in HIV/AIDS cases among black women on their husbands or boyfriends who are secretly having sex with other men – aka “on the down low.” [See clip below.]
GLAAD demanded an on-air correction from ABC, claiming the Centers for Disease Control publicly stated that the spread of HIV by closeted black men to straight women is more myth than fact. The group’s open letter to ABC and the show was also signed by the Black AIDS Institute and the National Black Justice Coalition.
A statement from ABC released to CNN late yesterday reads, “[D]uring a discussion about blood donation and the transmission of HIV/AIDS, a guest moderator on the show expressed his interpretation of data about one way the virus can be transmitted. The topic of HIV/AIDS has been raised many times over the show’s 13 years, with many voices and opinions contributing to a conversation that we expect to continue as long as The View is on the air.”
GLAAD continues to urge supporters to contact ABC and “The View.” Describing ABC’s statement as “evasive,” Cindi Craeger, GLAAD’s director of national news, posted on the organization’s website earlier today, “This program reaches millions of viewers and ABC must ensure that its platforms are not used to perpetuate dangerous falsehoods that put our community in harm’s way.”
