Actress and activist Ellen Page has questioned Chris Pratt on his affiliation with the “infamously anti LGBTQ” Hillsong church, after the Guardians Of The Galaxy star appeared on TV to talk about his religious faith.
Pratt sat down with Stephen Colbert yesterday to discuss The Lego Movie 2, and the conversation touched on the fact that he recently completed a 21 day regimen of prayer and fasting, which was inspired by the Biblical book of Daniel.
The actor told Colbert that his pastor at the church gave him some advice on staying grounded while being famous, saying: “If the spotlight that is shining on you is brighter than the light that’s within you, it will kill you.”
Shortly after the appearance, Ellen Page took to Twitter, seemingly unhappy that Colbert hadn’t asked any tough questions about Hillsong. “But his church is infamously anti LGBTQ so maybe address that too?” she wrote. Pratt and his reps have not yet commented.
Oh. K. Um. But his church is infamously anti lgbtq so maybe address that too? https://t.co/meg8m69FeF
— Elliot Page (@TheElliotPage) February 8, 2019
Hillsong cultivates a hipster image and has attracted its share of celebrity followers, including Justin Bieber and Kendall and Kylie Jenner, but former members have spoken out about an anti-gay culture, and the church’s official line is that homosexuality is a sin.
In 2015, Hillsong global pastor Brian Houston said that the church rejects same-sex marriage, adding:
“Hillsong Church welcomes ALL people but does not affirm all lifestyles. Put clearly, we do not affirm a gay lifestyle and because of this we do not knowingly have actively gay people in positions of leadership, either paid or unpaid. I recognise this one statement alone is upsetting to people on both sides of this discussion, which points to the complexity of the issue for churches all over the world.”
Ellen Page has been an advocate for LGBTQ causes since coming out in 2014, and in the wake of the recent attack on Empire star Jussie Smollett, she despaired at Vice President Mike Pence‘s explicitly anti-gay agenda, telling Stephen Colbert:
“If you are in a position of power and you hate people, and you want to cause suffering to them – you go through the trouble, you spend your career trying to cause suffering. What do you think is going to happen? Kids are going to be abused, and they’re going to kill themselves. And people are going to be beaten on the street. I have traveled the world and I have met the most marginalized people you can meet. I am lucky to have this time and this privilege to say this. This needs to fucking stop.”
