Tammy Faye Messner (Bakker) passed away on Friday. I remember watching PTL as a kid and simply being enthralled with her. (I did find her husband Jim a little annoying) In many ways, she was the first drag queen that I enjoyed watching. And what gay kid wouldn’t love watching someone who dresses and does their make-up like a drag queen. Not to mention all of the drama and tears, which was always fascinating. When the PTL show was taken off the air and the shit hit the fan (tax evasion and sex scandal) the christian community turned their backs on them.
Tammy Faye was not judgemental, and accepted every person regardless of who they were. She is one of the few christians I have seen publicly reach out to the gay community. I know that many people think of her as a bizarre, over the top, circus act. I see her as love.