HGTV Scraps Plans for Reality TV Series Starring Antigay Activist

HGTV announced the network has scrapped its plans for a new reality TV Show featuring antigay activist David Benham, reports Right Wing Watch.

The news was announced via HGTV's Twitter account today, noting the network "has decided not to move forward" with the series.

The show, Flip It Forward, was to feature real estate dealer David Benham and his twin brother, Jason, as they "leverage their good-natured sibling rivalry to help families find a fixer-upper and transform it into the dream home they never thought they could afford."

However, media backlash began shortly after the series was announced, as Benham is an active antichoice, anti-Muslim, and antigay activist. As a spokesman for Operation Save America - an extremist right-wing organization founded by his father, Flip Benham - he regularly leads protests outside of abortion clinics condemning those who use the facilities to hell and has referred to Muslims as "the enemy attacking" America.

Benham's antigay activism has been no less extreme. He has protested at a number of gay pride celebrations over the years, warned that marriage equality will "erode the moral fabric of society" while citing the biblical death penalty for homosexuality, and compared fighting against marriage rights for same-sex couples with the fight against Nazi Germany.

In a 2012 interview with conservative radio host Janet Mefferd, Benham said "homosexuality and its agenda" are "attacking the nation" and warned that "demonic ideologies [are] tak[ing] our universities and our public school systems"

Listen to a clip of that interview posted by Right Wing Watch below.