Kirk Cameron used to be the most likeable guy on television. His role as Mike Seaver on Growing Pains was universally loved, and posters of his smiling face graced almost every teenage girl’s bedroom walls in the ’80s. But then he started talking as Kirk Cameron the evangelist, and the Hollywood luster was gone. Instead of a smiling all-American teenager, Cameron has become a smiling proselytizer.
The problem is Cameron’s ideas on marriage, gender roles, education and evolution are pretty archaic — and they continually land him in the spotlight. Of course, that’s not necessarily bad for his brand. You see, Cameron has turned himself into something of a commodity, churning out Christian movies such as Unstoppable and Saving Christmas, in addition to going on nationwide Marriage Tours in which he touts the sanctity of marriage and doles out marriage advice. He even sells his own subscription coffee on his website, KirkCameron.com.
With that degree of holier-than-thou-ness, it’s about time we did a roundup of the most ridiculous things Cameron has said.
On women’s roles
Cameron’s latest media frenzy comes courtesy of an interview he did with the Christian Post in which he said, “Wives are to honor and respect and follow their husband’s lead, not to tell their husband how he ought to be a better husband.”
Yeah, right, like this was going to go over well with any woman possessing a spine. Of course, Cameron claims to mean well. He is, after all, just trying to save marriage (cue eye roll). He continued, “When each person gets their part right, regardless of how their spouse is treating them, there is hope for real change in their marriage.”
You hear that, ladies? Make sure you play your part correctly (and not nag), or else your marriage may crumble, and it will be all your fault!
Crocoduck
On a Fox News segment, Cameron argued that if evolution were true, we’d have tons of mutant animals running around. His example? Something called the crocoduck.
“Darwin said in order to prove evolution, which is the No. 1 alternative to God, you’ve got to be able to prove transitional forms — one animal transitioning into another — and all through the fossil record, we don’t find one of these [holds up photoshopped photo], a crocoduck,” he said.
Not only is he completely misunderstanding Darwin, but also he’s showing some seriously poor imaginative skills. A crocoduck? Where are all the cat-dogs to end pet owners’ arguments for good?
Mad at the 2014 Grammy Awards
Cameron posted the following to Facebook in response to the 2014 Grammy mass marriage on TV.
“How did you like the Grammy’s all out assault on the traditional family? As a husband and father, I am proud to announce the release of my new family movie, MERCY RULE. Last night, the lines were drawn thick and dark. Now more than ever, we must work together to create the world we want for our children. I’m hoping that just as Fireproof restored marriages, MERCY RULE will strengthen families.”
Um, you’d think that after working in Hollywood for as long as he did, Cameron would realize that it’s a pretty liberal place. The Grammy Awards are the last event he should be surprised to see artists celebrating gay marriage. Of course, his sly movie mention at the end of his remarks can’t be ignored… Cameron has become the master of grabbing headlines as a means of self-promotion.
Saving Christmas
In another Facebook post, Cameron put the onus of keeping the Christmas cheer alive and well on moms.
“If you are a mom, if you are a wife, if you are the keeper of your home, I want you to know that your joy is so important this Christmas.” The actor continued by instructing moms everywhere to “Let your children, your family, see your joy in the way you decorate your home this Christmas in the food that you cook, the songs you sing, the stories you tell and the traditions that you keep. Invite your whole neighborhood into your Christmas and invite the world into our story of our king and his kingdom.”
That time he insulted Oprah
In a video clip for the National Organization for Marriage, Cameron stated, “The same God who designed the universe designed marriage… and I’ve gotten to know him.” He doesn’t go into details on how or where he and God met for this in-depth chat on the evils of gay marriage, but he does go on to explain that God “speaks with authority on every subject, including marriage, and his advice trumps Oprah’s every time.”
I’m sure there are quite a few fans out there who would beg to differ.
That Piers Morgan interview…
During a 2012 interview with Piers Morgan, Cameron stirred up a lot of ill will by admitting that he believed homosexuality is “unnatural. I think that it’s detrimental and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization.”
Cameron seemed surprised that so many old fans found his views upsetting, as the Growing Pains star had been fervent in his fundamentalist views before the show ended. Maybe he didn’t realize how many of us had forgotten all about him until he returned to public view as a judgmental twit.
On gay marriage
In that same Piers Morgan interview, Cameron said, “Marriage was defined by God a long time ago. Marriage is almost as old as dirt, and it was defined in the garden between Adam and Eve — one man, one woman for life till death do you part. So I would never attempt to try to redefine marriage. And I don’t think anyone else should, either. So do I support the idea of gay marriage? No, I don’t.”
When considering his earlier statement, this is no surprise. The problem, of course, is that he sounds like he learned nothing from the warmhearted show he spent so many years on. Where is the compassionate, Mike Seaver? In our memories.
On being pro-life
In a CNN interview, Cameron explained that his pro-life stance extended to rape and incest as an act of morality. “Someone who is ultimately willing to murder a child, even to fix another tragic and devastating situation like rape or incest or things like that, is not taking the moral high road.”
The most appalling thing is that when asked if he would force his own daughter to carry a baby conceived out of rape or incest, his answer was a clear yes. No matter his opinions, the fact that his own daughter’s wishes would be subservient to his own makes my stomach turn.
On Stephen Hawking
In a 2011 Facebook post, Cameron whined: “To say anything negative about Stephen Hawking is like bullying a blind man. He has an unfair disadvantage, and that gives him a free pass on some of his absurd ideas.” Hawking, of course, suffers from a motor neuron disease, which Cameron considers a secret weapon of Hawking’s — a sort of invisible cloak that protects him.
Rather than crediting the man’s well-earned genius, Cameron continued: “Professor Hawking is heralded as ‘the genius of Britain,’ yet he believes in the scientific impossibility that nothing created everything and that life sprang from non-life.”
Are you kidding me? Who gets mad at Hawking and then claims his disability is a magic shield? No matter what your views on science, Cameron just looks like a douche on this one.
On education
In yet another Fox News interview, Cameron claimed that education is inherently religious; therefore, Christmas totally belongs in schools everywhere.
“Well, we’re talking about education, and I think the problem is that education is inherently religious… What is an education that doesn’t address ultimate questions like who are we? Why are we here? What’s the meaning of life?”
It’s fascinating that Cameron believes if we ask what the meaning of life is, we are obviously having a religious discussion, even though there are a lot of people in the world who would agree that it’s a philosophical question, not an inherently religious one.
On Darwin
In a 2009 People interview, Cameron stated, “You can see where [Hitler] clearly takes Darwin’s ideas to some of their logical conclusions and compares certain races of people to lower evolutionary life forms.” But he wasn’t done. Cameron explained, “If you take Darwin’s theory and extend it to its logical end, it can be used to justify all number of very horrendous things.”
Hitler? Really? If there’s anything about Darwinism that Cameron should be able to relate to, it’s the fact that a book’s author has no control over what the zealots who read his book do in its name.
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