Westboro Baptist Church targets Macklemore concert in home state
Jul 29, 2013, 4:29 PM | Updated: Jul 30, 2013, 8:47 am
The anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church is targeting Seattle's Mary Lambert along with collaborators Macklemore and Ryan Lewis for their hit same-sex marriage anthem "Same Love." (Mary Lambert image)
(Mary Lambert image)
The anti-gay church known for picketing funerals has set its sights on Seattle’s Macklemore and Ryan Lewis for their hit same-sex marriage anthem “Same Love.” And the handful of Westboro Baptist Church members don’t have to travel far to unleash their latest round of anti-gay vitriol.
Macklemore and Lewis are performing Monday night in the church’s home state of Kansas as part of the festivities for the MLS All-Star game in Kansas City, 60 miles from its hometown of Topeka.
Mary Lambert, who wrote and sings the song’s moving, signature chorus, is there with them to perform “Same Love.” And she tells KIRO Radio she’s not too bothered by Westboro singling her out in a series of hateful tweets ahead of Monday night’s concert.
“I went to high school, I’ve been called names before,” she laughs. Lambert says she’s thrilled to be able to sing the song of tolerance, acceptance and love in the Midwest, especially on the church’s home turf.
“It’s heartbreaking but at the same time I know they’re doing it for shock value and I keep getting told if the WBC is protesting you it means you’re doing something right, so I’m okay with it now.”
It’s not the first time Lambert has gone up against the church. Four years ago she and a friend joined a counter-protest against a handful of WBC protestors targeting a local church. And it was then she realized how absurd the publicity-hungry members really were.
“I can’t even remember what they were protesting. It was really silly. They only had like two or three people holding signs, and then there was just a big mass of Seattle people. I made a sign that ‘God loves his gay children’, she says.
So four years later, it’s all come full circle. “I feel really good about it,” she says. Lambert should. Not only has “Same Love” recently gone Platinum, she’s releasing her own version of the song Tuesday on iTunes. It’s a heartwarming, emotional ballad called “She Keeps Me Warm,” based on her unforgettable chorus that anchors the song.
Related:
Exclusive: Mary Lambert turns Macklemore’s “Same Love” into new ballad
