Somizi: I don’t have a problem with scripture, just don’t edit

Idols SA judge and choreographer Somizi Mhlongo has opened up about the Grace Bible Church incident for the first time, saying he felt that he was chosen for that moment to send a message to the church.

In an interview with Carte Blanche, Somizi says he did not walk out because he felt offended by the scripture the pastor was reading from, it was the editing and the additional words that left him offended.

He felt that, for a person of influence, it was wrong for the pastor to preach hatred, making it easier for homophobic people to keep perpetrating violence against homosexuals.

“The sermon was not moving to begin with; he started talking about the importance of the soul; he didn’t really get to the point and then I started playing with my phone – and then the next thing I hear ‘homosexuals’ and I said, ‘Oh, okay’.

“Before that he talked about divorced couples and then he goes on to single people and then homosexuals. Then I started concentrating.

“He started talking about how unnatural it is and how not even animals practise it. He said you’ll never see a male dog with a male dog, a male springbok with a male springbok, so why must human beings do it?”

Also read: The sermon was not only for gay people, says Grace Bible Church

This was when Somizi took his bag and walked out of the church, though one usher tried to convince him to stay or use the back entrance to avoid being seen.

As he was leaving, people looked at him, smiling. He says he felt they were saying “look at him, he’s embarrassed, the seat is too hot for him to handle”.

The reactions, however, did not hurt him as he has always known Christians to be “judgmental”, especially when someone does not live according to the way they prefer.

He says he was just sending a message to the church so they could address homophobia practised in the name of religion. He felt it was time to stand up and tell the churches that its message was hurting homosexuals.

“I’ve never heard of anyone saying I’m tired of the church using the Bible to be homophobic and we live at a time when gay people are being killed all over the world. In some countries, it’s criminal; in some countries, it’s a death sentence. Here in South African there is corrective rape; you cannot as a person of influence stand there and preach such hate,” he says.

WATCH: The Grace Bible Church sermon that left Somizi fuming

Though he says he was disappointed at the way the church handled the whole debacle, he plans to still go back, as it has been his spiritual home for 32 years.