Homophobic Christian activist Anita Bryant died of cancer on December 16 at the age of 84 in Edmonton, Oklahoma. Her anti-gay activism ended her singing career, bankrupted her, and famously compelled a gay activist to hit her in the face with a pie on live TV in 1977. Near the end of her life, she condemned her own granddaughter for being gay.She led numerous anti-gay campaigns, calling homosexuals human garbage and members of a deviant lifestyle who groomed children through sexual abuse. Her hateful demonizing views made her a precursor to modern-day far-right politicians, influencers, and bigots who accuse queer people of grooming and sexualizing children in schools. Related QAnons SaveOurChildren slogan has a long anti-LGBTQ history With each accusation on social media comes the hashtags #SaveTheChildren and #SaveOurChildren slogans that have been used against LGBTQ people many times over the last 100 years. Bryant, an Oklahoma native, won the 1958 Miss Oklahoma beauty pageant, was a professional singer who performed at U.S.O. military shows, Billy Grahams evangelical tours, and famously sang The Battle Hymn of the Republic during the 1971 Super Bowl and at the 1973 burial of ex-President Lyndon B. Johnson. She also served as a brand ambassador for the Florida Citrus Commission, selling orange juice from 1969 to 1980. LGBTQ+ news you can rely on Keep track of the ongoing battle against bias and for equality with our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today However, Bryant is most infamous for her anti-gay activism during the 1970s when she led the Save Our Children campaign to successfully repeal a Dade County, Florida ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. If gays are granted rights, next well have to give rights to prostitutes and to people who sleep with St. Bernards and to nail biters, she said during the campaign.One of her biggest supporters was Rev. Jerry Falwell, a fundamentalist preacher who called gay people vile, Satanic murderers. He founded the Moral Majority political action group in 1979. It laid the groundwork for Christian nationalism that has since become a Republican Party mainstay.During a live TV appearance in Des Moines, Iowa, on October 14, 1977, she endorsed her network of Anita Bryant Centers where homosexuals could go for rehabilitation; that is, conversion therapy (a fraudulent practice that has been denounced as ineffective and harmful by major psychological associations). During her TV appearance repeatedly said she loves homosexuals, but hates their sin. During her appearance, gay activist Thom L. Higgins threw a banana cream pie in her face, leading her to remark, At least its a fruit pie.After the assault, Higgins told Bryant, We love you as a person, but we cant stand the garbage you spout.Bryant began crying as she led a prayer for God to forgive Higgins for his deviant lifestyle. She then led campaigns to ban equal rights ordinances in several cities nationwide. In 1978, she endorsed the Briggs Initiative, a California ballot measure to ban gays and lesbians and anyone who made pro-gay statements from working in public schools.The recruitment of our children is absolutely necessary for the survival and growth of homosexuality for since homosexuals cannot reproduce, they must recruit, must freshen their ranks, she said, adding, A particularly deviant-minded teacher could sexually molest children. The measure was defeated by over a million votes after Ronald Reagan and then-President Jimmy Carter both publicly opposed it. Reagan said he opposed it because it could lead students to falsely accuse teachers they disliked.Her activism galvanized gay rights activists who fundraised and organized against her campaigns, picketed her live events, and picketed against her at demonstrations and Pride events nationwide. Activists also led nationwide boycotts of Florida orange juice at gay bars, leading some to replace vodka-OJ screwdrivers with Anita Bryant Cocktails made of vodka and apple juice.Her anti-gay activism also led to hate mail and death threats, rescinded sponsorships from over 80 organizations, the revocation of an offer to have her own weekly TV variety show, the cancellation of numerous big-money concerts, and he loss of her 1978 bid to become vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention (surprisingly because some leaders disagreed with her hateful anti-gay statements). In 1980, the Florida Citrus Commission dropped her as a spokesperson and she divorced her first husband Bob Green, leading Christian fundamentalists to shun her because they saw divorce as a sin.In 2007, Green told The Miami Herald that he blamed gay people for his divorce, saying, Their stated goal was to put [Bryant] out of business and destroy her career. And thats what they did. Its unfair.Anita Bryant will suck oranges in hell from now on. Lets celebrate our queer icons who protested against this enemy of human rights. https://t.co/k1V4PNdBpf pic.twitter.com/1Um5RcZX8h Margaret "Molly" Rasberry (@RasberryRazz) January 9, 2025When Anita Bryant came to Houston in 1977 pic.twitter.com/ug98WCEcjm Bathhouse Agitator (@gusselsprouts) January 10, 2025 Her name has since become synonymous with anti-gay bigotry. She was mocked on numerous TV programs including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Saturday Night Live, Soap,Designing Women,The Golden Girls, and Will & Grace. She declared bankruptcy in 1997 after owing over $172,000 in unpaid taxes had trouble financially providing for her kids, contemplated suicide, and later admitted to becoming addicted to pills and wine, The Washington Post reported. To this day, LGBTQ+ people suffer higher rates of financial hardship, suicidal ideation, and drug addiction due to the sort of public discrimination Bryant fostered.In 2011, Bryant told an Oklahoma newspaper, Ive never regretted what I did. Would I do it again? Ive had to ask myself that question many times, Bryant once told The Washington Post. What I did, I feel today still, was right. If you go against what God says is wrong, there are ramifications for that. She avoided the public spotlight for most of her later life.In 2021, her granddaughter Sarah Green announced she was gay and wanted to marry her girlfriend. Sarah Green said that, upon coming out to Bryant, the former singer told her, Homosexuality is a delusion invented by the devil and advised that she should keep praying until she believes shes straight.A moment of silence for Anita Bryant: https://t.co/vpWXHO8A6K pic.twitter.com/It2vn1my5K Mr. Panda (@knightofetros) January 10, 2025I hope this is the first thing Anita Bryant sees when she gets to hell pic.twitter.com/XZUK0O0uGY Ben Yahr (@benyahr) January 9, 2025 Editors note: If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at988lifeline.org. TheTrans Lifeline(1-877-565-8860) is staffed by trans people and will not contact law enforcement. The Trevor Project provides a safe, judgement-free place to talk for youth viachat, text (678-678), or phone (1-866-488-7386). Help is available at all three resources in English and Spanish.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.