CULTURE: Alan Cumming slams Obama on gay rights

Tony winner Alan Cumming, currently playing a political spin doctor on the CBS drama The Good Wife, had some choice words for President Barack Obama when it comes to the president’s efforts on behalf of LGBT equality.

Cumming was once a big supporter of Obama and I recall speaking to him about it when we were both at the Democratic National Convention in Denver two years ago. He was there as part of the Creative Coalition and a feeling of optimism was in the air.

That has changed for Cumming who in an interview with Scotland’s The Herald accused Obama of not doing “diddly squat” for gay rights.

Said Cumming: “We keep hearing that Obama is an ally, that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ will end under his watch, but what do we actually get? Diddly squat thus far on a federal level, and in addition to that some very offensive statements that would have made the Republicans look bad.”

"When America is full of hatred of all kinds, but especially hatred towards young gay people, what message is the President sending when he repeatedly goes out of his way to spread the message that the gay population is not worthy of the respect that everyone else is?

“How can we counsel our children not to bully their gay classmates or mock their gay friends when they see their President, their beloved President Obama, refusing to do the equivalent in regards to troops and other adults?”