In a recent post, I made a great deal of hay out of Andrew Caldwell, the star of that “I’m Not Gay No More” ex-gay church video that went viral a few weeks ago. I think my analysis of the troubling reasons why many of us found the clip so funny still stands, but in light of recent news, it seems worth acknowledging that Caldwell is not the innocent victim that many originally took him to be.
According to a post at Slate’s sister site The Root, Caldwell has created a comical musical remix album of his testimony at the Church of God in Christ convention and is hawking it on iTunes for $2.97. COGIC, as you might imagine, is none too pleased. The Root’s Yesha Callahan has more:
According to TMZ, the Church of God in Christ is threatening to sue Caldwell because it said the audio from the church service belongs to it. The church wants Caldwell to stop selling the song, even though Caldwell says he holds a copyright to it. In addition to having an issue with the music, the church feels that Caldwell is making a mockery of it.
It may take some time for the copyright issues to be sorted out, but this development has already rendered one thing abundantly clear: Caldwell’s relationship to his sexuality and the “curing” of it is complicated. Whether he’s a sort of con man, as some have suggested, or just trying to get in on—and make some cash off of—the joke is uncertain. Either way, this situation is definitely darker than it initially appeared.
