Nancy Grace: anti-gay activist Anita Bryant a “sweet lady,” reminds her of her mother

HLN host, Atlanta resident and professional shame lacker Nancy Grace says notorious anti-gay activist Anita Bryant is a “sweet lady” who reminds Grace of her own mother.

The comments came on her show Tuesday in a discussion that started about Brad Pitt being attacked on the red carpet by a prankster, which for some ungodly reason Grace then compares to Bryant getting a pie in the face at a press conference in 1977.

“She was speaking on some issue dear to her heart. She is a lady…I don’t understand that,” Grace told guest Dr. Bethany Marshall.

“Why did that guy do that? Look at her,” Grace continued. “She makes me think of my own mother. Why would you do this to a sweet lady, whether you agree with her politics or not?”

Bryant is a former beauty queen and Florida orange juice spokeswoman who had a moderately successful singing career before gaining infamy for her campaign to overturn a gay rights ordinance in Dade County in 1977. She led a coalition against the ordinance called Save Our Children, repeatedly accusing the gay community of wanting to “recruit” children and at one point comparing the community to prostitutes and people who sleep with dogs.

Which was pretty “sweet” of her, no?

Bryant later led crusades against gay adoption and other gay rights ordinances across the country.

Marshall takes the conversation into even more bizarre territory, saying the man threw the pie in Bryant’s face because he was envious of her.

“What do we do when we’re envious? We try to destroy the object of our envy,” Marshall said. “Anita Bryant was beautiful, as you pointed out, she had a voice, she could sing, and what did he do? He attacked the most beautiful part of her. He defaced her.”

psaunders@thegavoice.com | @patricksaunders