MAFS star Jessika Power has been called out for appearing to use homophobic language while endorsing a brand in a series of Instagram Stories.
In the video, which is no longer on Power’s Instagram Story, either because she came to her senses and deleted it or simply because the 24 hours were up, the reality star can be seen spruiking a brand, as you can see in the tag below.
While discussing the brand, Jessika Power sings a little song, then subsequently says, “I’m so gay.”
I got immediate traumatic high school flashbacks from this video because it reminded me of a time when people thought it was acceptable to refer to something lame or bad as “gay.”
I remember people would say, “That’s so gay… Oh, but I’m not homophobic.” Ah, hate to break it to ya, but yes you are, mate. By aligning the term ‘gay’ with something negative, you are, in fact, implying that being gay is a negative thing.
The fact that I even had to type that out is baffling to me – how do people not know this by now?
To be fair, I haven’t actually heard someone use the term ‘gay’ in that context for some years now because most people have come to learn that it’s offensive and should never be used, but apparently Jessika Power hasn’t.
Still confused as to why using the term ‘gay’ in this way is homophobic? Let me refer you to this ad from *checks notes* fucking 2008 where Hilary Duff educates folks on why it’s offensive:
