An Ohio high school canceled a student play after some local residents objected to a gay character, according to students and local media.
Ohio students say school canceled their play over gay character
According to local news station WCPO, Hillsboro High School in Ohio was planning a fall production of She Kills Monsters, which follows a high school senior who learns about the life of his late sister, who was supposed to be gay.
But a month before the play was scheduled to open, it was canceled.
Many local families believe the play’s cancellation was due to anti-LGBT+ pastor Jeff Lyle.
The pastor insists he never spoke to the school board, which canceled the play after a recent meeting, but said it was “inappropriate.”
Lyle said, “From a biblical worldview, this play is inappropriate for several reasons, e.g., sexual innuendo, implied sexual activity between unmarried people, repeated use of foul language, including taking the Lord’s name in vain.”
Gay students at an Ohio high school were devastated by the removal of the play because a gay character
Christopher Cronan, one of the students who had spent months learning lines for the play, said queer students felt they were being told that “their lives don’t matter.”
He told WCPO, “I felt like we were being told, ‘Go away and your lives don’t matter.
“‘I’m openly bisexual at that school and I’ve faced a lot of homophobia there, but I never expected them to cancel a play because of a fictional character.”
A former Hillsboro high school started a GoFundMe campaign to have the play performed at a local community theater.
The fundraiser has already raised more than $16,000, triple its original goal.
