Sherri Shepherd's and D.L. Hughley's HIV Mythology

The View may be one of the more LGBT friendly television shows on the air. You've got Joy Behar, who won an award at this year's Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media Awards. You've got Whoopi Goldberg, who was out on the front lines speaking out against the passage of California's Proposition 8. You even have one of the more gay-friendlier Republicans in the country, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who while far from a champion for LGBT equality, has come around in recent years to support gay marriage, and chide anti-gay conservatives for being too judgmental.

With this reputation in check, it makes it all the more surprising and frustrating this week that The View became Ground Zero for people who make stuff about HIV and homosexuality. And by people we mean View co-host Sherri Shepherd and View guest co-host D.L. Hughley. Both took center stage during a June 22 telecast of the show, where discussion focused on the Food and Drug Administration's ban on gay blood donations, as well as the alarmingly high rates of HIV among African American women. With a conversation that heavy, you might expect highly nuanced comments, or at least some commentary rooted in scientific fact.

Viewers got neither. Instead, those who tuned into the episode found D.L. Hughley and Sherri Shepherd legitimizing a damning stereotype that, while baseless, has managed to do its fair share of destruction when it comes to public health and HIV/AIDS. That stereotype?

That closeted gay black men living on the 'down low' are to blame for the epidemic of HIV within the African American community.

"[HIV} is so big in the black community with women because they've been having unprotected sex with men who have been having sex with men," Shepherd said, to Hughley's agreement.

That statement, of course, runs counter to the Centers for Disease Control, and drew quite a fair share of rebuke from folks like RENEWL, BlackGayGossip.com, gay writer/activist Rob Smith, and a host of other prominent LGBT groups.

But when Shepherd and Hughley, not to mention the television network ABC, were asked to retract their comments and have a more nuanced discussion about HIV and homosexuality in the African American community, they all refused, wanting no part in educating their audience with facts related to HIV in the black community. ABC, it seems, would rather let Shepherd and Hughley spread misinformation and mythology, regardless of how much damage it might do.

GLAAD is out with a petition, calling ABC and The View to task. As Rashad Robinson, GLAAD's Senior Director of Programs, put it, both Shepherd and Hughley should be held accountable for their inaccurate statements.

"Sherri Shepherd and D.L. Hughley's claim that African American gay and bisexual men are ‘primarily' responsible for increased HIV rates among African American women is inaccurate and dangerous," said Robinson. "Medical experts, including the Centers for Disease Control have dispelled that myth and ABC has a responsibility to its viewers to correct the information. Shepherd and Hughley's comments fuel a climate of homophobia and racism."

To that end, GLAAD is absolutely right. The Centers for Disease Control have completely dispelled the myth that 'down low' men are responsible for increased HIV rates among African American women. Dr. Kevin Fenton, a doctor with the CDC, said as much in an interview with BlackPressUsa.com.

"In fact, we have looked to see what proportion of infections is coming from male partners who are bisexual and found there are actually relatively few. More are male partners who are having female partners and are injecting drugs or using drugs or have some other risks that may put those female partners at risk of acquiring HIV," Fenton said.

Perhaps someone should put that on a postcard, and slip it under Sherri Shepherd's dressing room door.

Below is the video of Shepherd's and Hughley's segment, where they're speaking with journalist Thomas Roberts.

Yes, The View is an entertainment show. It's not Nova, by a mile. But at the same time, issues pertaining to the FDA's ban on gay blood, and HIV/AIDS in the African American community get scant media coverage. The four minutes this week on The View were quite possibly the most prominent segment yet tying all of these issues together.

It's just a shame that they couldn't get their facts right, and instead reinforced some damning and dangerous stereotypes.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons