Media personality and pastor Gerry Elsdon | Picture: Instagram
After being nominated in the Diva Extraordinaire category at the 2010 Feather Awards and later getting to hand out an award to another winner some years later, Gerry Elsdon (nee Rantseli) is now persona-non-grata at the annual Feather Awards.
This, according to Feathers co-founder Thami Kotlolo, who spoke to The Citizen at a media event where this year’s nominees were announced. He noted how disappointed he was to hear the comments she made on Phat Joe’s new show Cheeky Palate.
In addition to being one of the founders of the event, Kotlolo is an activist for the advancement of queer rights and the general well-being of queer people. He works with a large number of organisations throughout the year to not only host dialogues with people on the ground but to assist queer people in need whenever possible.
One of the many ways Thami and the organisations he works with were doing this, this year (especially during lockdown) was to provide queer people with safe spaces to stay during the lockdown.
“A lot of us have lived in spaces that were not empowering and also a lot of our queer people struggle with safe spaces, homes being one of those that have victimised them,” he said.
“Queer people wanted to find shelter because they just were not feeling comfortable at home which may often be a homophobic environment.”
These circumstances that queer people often find themselves in were among the reasons he was disappointed to hear what Elsdon had to say.
“I’ve engaged her personally but I think that on this space, no… she can’t come to this space again. I believe in forgiveness but also that we must hold people accountable and responsible for the statements they make,” said Kotlolo.
“The statements that were made that night at that table were at the risk and at the cost of the very lives that we are trying to save. So if anyone stands out there and stands out there confidently to say that anyone’s identity is a sin, then we have every reason to disengage.”
Earlier this week, Elsdon drew the ire of the queer community and their allies when she said: “It is in the Bible, the word of God is very specific…. And I know people begin to argue about ‘is whether the Bible is the word of God or ancient scriptures…’ The reality of the word of God is that it has been proved and approved and researched and approved as ancient scripture and disapproved by many over many centuries. People love to disapprove the word of God. The bottom line is that the word of God is very clear that homosexuality is a sin.
“Having said that, the first commandment is to love. What does love mean? It means to be sensitive, it means to be charitable, it means to be compassionate. It means to care. And in that vein, it wouldn’t matter who you are. Homosexual or not, there is always a place at the cross for you. What the word says is that we need to live our lives in right-standing with God.”
Thami also noted that a large number of people in the LGBTIQ+ community work in the creative and entertainment industry and were therefore greatly impacted by the lockdown as many of them found themselves without work.
Considering the fact that the Feather Awards are a social event, Thami and all those he works with had to toy with the idea that there may not be an awards ceremony this year or that they may have had to make it a virtual affair.
“Fortunately we were smart enough to find ways to make sure that it exists, either online or finding its way to the small group of people who appreciate it.”
When asked if they, as organisers, were met with some resistance from sponsors (who play a part in ensuring the awards take place every year), Thami noted that funds were not as readily available as they normally are due to how they were prioritised for the circumstances society now finds itself in.
“A lot of monies have been re-prioritised for other things. Interestingly enough, this is the very thing we’re pushing for now, to say that ‘as you push everything back and you prioritise others, please don’t leave our particular group of humans behind’,” said Kotlolo.
“The little rands and cents we could get from our people and our sponsors were greatly appreciated.”
The 12th annual awards ceremony will be taking place on Wednesday, 11 November.
2020 Feather Awards Nominees
Best Styled Individual
Multi-award winning actor, writer and director Thishiwe Ziqubu | Picture: Instagram / @davidblaqrsa
Hunk of The Year
Hot Chick of The Year
Model, influencer and entrepreneur Blue Mbombo | Picture: Instagram
Sports Personality of The Year
Best Rainbow Parenting
Best LGBTIQ Student Movement
Best LGBTIQ Initiative: Public Sector
Best LGBTIQ Initiative: Private Sector
Diva Extraordinaire of The Year
Media Award of The Year
Social Media Personality of The Year
Cutest Couple of The Year
Role Model of The Year
Drama Queen of The Year
Malusi Gigaba and Norma Mngoma. Picture: Instagram
Socialite of The Year
Musician of The Year
Fag Hag of The Year
African Feather of the Year
Another unnamed individual will be honoured in this category, however, this person’s identity is currently being kept hush hush as organisers would like to surprise the recipient.
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