Colton Underwood. (Getty/ Emma McIntyre)
NFL player turned reality TV star Colton Underwood has hit out at bigoted Christians who condemn his sexuality: “They do not represent our God.”
Underwood, who came out as gay in a Good Morning America interview earlier this year, was the lead in the 23rd season of The Bachelor, and has since starred in his own Netflix reality show Coming Out Colton.
The six-part docuseries was released this month, and on Tuesday (28 December), Underwood took to Instagram to share a selection of messages he has received from anti-LGBT+ Christians in response to his sexuality.
While one person told Underwood he “can’t be a Christian” if he’s gay, another wrote: “Men are supposed to want women and women are supposed to want men. Please Colton. Don’t get stuck in this lie… There is something so special about a man and a woman and all the things Jesus said about marriage.”
Another told him: “Please don’t listen to people. Please listen to Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 6:9 it says men who practice homosexuality will not inherit the kingdom of God.
“Please don’t tell other people that it’s OK to practice homosexuality.”
Responding to the messages, Underwood wrote: “For those of you who saw my show you know I’m still on my faith journey.
“While I’ve had a ton of support from the Christian community, I’ve also heard, ‘Well it’s got a lot better over the years.” And while that might be true I can’t help but to think if these messages still get sent to me… what is being said to closeted men and women who want to remain in their faith?
“These messages are not OK. They do not represent Christians. They do not represent our God.”
Colton Underwood has faced backlash from the LGBT+ community
Since he came out as gay, on the same day that the already-filmed series Coming Out Colton was announced, Colton Underwood has faced backlash from the LGBT+ community.
Many have criticised the ex-professional football player for spreading COVID-19 misinformation early in the pandemic, as well as for his alleged stalking of his former The Bachelor co-star Cassie Randolph.
When his show came out, it was mocked online for appearing to compare Underwood to LGBT+ trailblazers like Marsha P Johnson and Harvey Milk.