An American ordained female pastor was removed from a Christian podcast at the last moment because she is openly gay. Anne-Marie was ready to go live when she received a message ten minutes before airtime: the interview was cancelled.

The producers of 'Living My Faith' offered to invite her to another programme instead. They admitted that LGBTQ+ topics felt 'sensitive' to them. Anne-Marie is an ordained pastor with a Yale degree who came out at age 52 after a long marriage. She supports women who discover later in life they are gay, bisexual or transgender.

The issue was simple: the producers could have googled her. In thirty seconds, they would have seen who they were inviting. They accepted her, but apparently conducted no basic background check. Anne-Marie raises the question: what is worse – failing to check who you invite, or checking and inviting her anyway, then backing out?

This case shows how progressive rhetoric clashes with conservative practice. Many conservative religious groups claim to be inclusive. Yet when it actually matters, they prove otherwise. Anne-Marie loses a platform where she could have done important work: showing that being gay and religious need not be contradictory.