Westboro Baptist Church Targets 'Red State' Movie Director Kevin Smith
Film director Kevin Smith has been deemed a “God-hating clown” by the Westboro Baptist Church.
Smith's horror film, “Red State,” is about a fundamental religious group that murders sinners, starring John Goodman. Set in Middle America, “Red State” tells a story about teenagers who encounter menacing church members, said to have a semblance to Westboro.
Members of Westboro attended a showing of the film and left after 15 minutes, slashfilm.com reported. The church, widely labeled as an extremist group, is well-known for its hate-filled messages, especially towards gays and military personnel. A spokesperson for Westboro said, “God hates fags, God hates fag enablers; therefore God hates Kevin Smith.”
Speaking with TMZ, Smith said, “Jesus told ME he loved 'Red State.' He also said neither He nor His Heavenly Father has any affiliation with the Westboro Baptist Church.”
The live interview with Smith, who directed “Dogma” in 1999, also included him saying that God “loves all the 'Dark Knight' footage he’s seen so far on TMZ.”
Smith, a Catholic, is scheduled to release the Indie film to theaters on September 22.
In recent months, the radical Christians at Westboro Baptist Church have protested at the funerals of soldiers bearing signs that read “God Hates Fags” and “God Hates America.”
Westboro Church members have protested at Lady Gaga concerts as well as NBA games.
Fred Phelps, the leader of the church, wrote on the church’s website: “The entertainment industry is a microcosm of the people in this doomed nation: hard-hearted, hell-bound, and hedonistic.”
The church also plans to picket at a Foo Fighters concert in Kansas City on September 16. Phelps continued on the website, “These people have a platform and should be using it to encourage obedience to God; instead they teach every person who will listen to all things contrary to Him: fornication, adultery, idolatry, fags.”
Phelps concludes, “We will be there to remind you that the day of your destruction is upon you, even as you vainly seek the comfort in the frivolities of this life.”