Two years ago, Jon Foreman, the frontman of the legendary Christian band Switchfoot, responded to the coaxing of a queer “Christian” artist questioning his pro-LGBTQ+ creds, telling her that LGBTQ+ people are always welcome at his concerts and that he supports gay rights and freedoms.
Though less prominent than she is now, that person was Semler, the foul-mouthed singer we last saw attending the Dove Awards with Caedmon’s Call’s cross-dressing singer Derek Webb. A pro-choice non-binary lesbian who is currently ‘married’ and expecting a baby with her ‘spouse,’ she expressed her belief that Christians are disproportionately harmful to LGBTQ people, and so her practice was to wear her Pride shirt to concerts and shout out “Gay rights!” in between songs and then tagging the band on TikTok, hoping that they’ll respond to her in an affirming message and not do some bait and switch like “I love you too.”
By “gay rights” she means the right to marry, the right to be free from discrimination, the right to access any bathroom they or transgendered allies choose, and a host of other ones. According to Semler, because Christians have been specific in their hurt, they need to be specific in their affirmation.
Lead singer Jon Foreman did not disappoint, responding to her in a way that left her feeling completely affirmed. After shouting out “gay rights” at one of his shows and tagging him on social media, Foreman responded to her personally in a TikTok video, saying:
“I saw your story and wanted to respond and tell you, ‘Yes, I support your rights and freedoms.’ I want you to feel loved and supported…. May you find peace, truth, and love on your journey. Keep writing songs, keep creating beauty, keep reaching out, and keep being honest, chasing beauty and truth and light and love.”
Semler took his words to heart, explaining that her takeaway is that the band is LGBTQ-affirming, and wanting him to confirm and clarify, which he did in the form of a little “like.”
I don’t know if you know how meaningful that affirmation was. I am interpreting what you said as being affirming. If I’m incorrect in that, then I really hope you would clarify. Because I think for many queer people of faith, the bait and switch of hearing such encouraging words like yours and then finding out it means something else is heartbreaking.
It’s no surprise that Semler, whose songs contain many references to Switchfoot and whose heart he did not break, attended their concert armed with a VIP pass in tow. She posted a picture on social media with their arms around each other and fists raised, captioned: “A lot can happen in two years. I had a great birthday.”
Sadly, Switchfoot and Foreman continue to show why they’ve joined the ranks of other formerly-Christian-and-now gay-affirming-bands we’ve catalogued, including Amy Grant, Jennifer Knapp, Jars of Clay, DC Talk’s Kevin Max, Relient K, Caedmon’s Call, The Rend Collective, Five Iron Frenzy, Plumb, and Sara Groves,
What an ugly letdown.
