[Dr. Drew Pinsky, Hln:] Tonight, new pictures of Caitlyn Jenner after her transition. Why some people hate what she is doing and are not afraid to say so. And, a man who says he made a huge mistake by having had sexual reassignment surgery. It all starts right now with the "Top of the Feed." A pastor in Arizona tells his congregation at Faithful Word Baptist Church, he hopes Caitlyn Jenner, quote, "Dies and goes to hell." Take a look.
[Pastor Steven Anderson, Pastor At Faithful Word Baptist Church:] You know, this week, this filthy, sodomite picture is everywhere and people are showing this transvestite or transgender or whatever this guy is, Bruce Jenner, has basically mutilated his body, apparently. And I mean, this filthy pervert is just like on all these magazine covers and just everywhere. Literally, hundreds of millions of people are being subjected to looking at a trans-freak. I have no love, no love, for this Bruce freak!
[Unidentified Male Speaker:] Yes! Amen!
[Pastor Anderson:] I hope he dies today! I hope he dies and goes to hell! He is disgusting. He is filthy. He is reprobate. But yet today, people think I am crazy. Yes, you are right. I am crazy, because I think that every man should keep his privy member in place. I am nuts. You say, "Well, you know, what do I pray for?" Pray for your needs and pray for Bruce Jenner to die and go to hell.
[Unidentified Crowd:] Amen!
[Pastor Anderson:] There is something to pray for. So, you got five nice things to pray for. Let us bow our heads and everyone have a prayer.
[Pinsky:] Joining us to discuss, Vanessa Barnett, Hiphollywood.om; Emily Roberts, psychotherapist, author of "Express Yourself: A Teen Girl`s Guide To Speaking Up And Being Who You Are," and Michael Catherwood, my "Love Line" and KABC Radio co-host. All right, Emily, you seemed to have had a strong reaction to that guy. What are you thinking?
[Emily Roberts, Psychotherapist:] It is shocking that he is talking to so many people about this and using the words "Die." I mean this is so dangerous to be teaching people.
[Pinsky:] So, it could be ultimately inciting hate and violence?
[Roberts:] Yes.
[Vanessa Barnett, Social Commentator:] Absolutely. But, let us be clear. He got like one amen and a half of a snap. Like, nobody was really feeling his message. And, it is unfortunate, because as a Christian, when people speak like that, it looks bad on the entire community. But, we are supposed to be promoting love, love for everyone. Even if we do not agree with certain choices, it is about love. God is love.
[Pinsky:] No. No. So, using the bible to harm someone is misuse of the bible, right?
[Barnett:] Look, we are all sinners. We are not supposed to take the bible and beat everybody with it.
[Pinsky:] Nobody. Nobody. It is you, Vanessa.
[Barnett:] It is not supposed to beat everyone with it. You are not supposed to condemn someone to hell. Like, who the hell do you think you are?
[Pinsky:] And this is not the first time this pastor has been in the headlines for saying some wild stuff. In 2014, you said, quote, "If you execute the homos like god recommends, you would not have all the aids running rampant." And in 2009, quote, "I am going to pray that he [Obama], dies and goes to hell."
[Michael Catherwood, "love Line" An Kabc Radio Co-host:] Is not that against the law?
[Pinsky:] He is not saying he is going to kill the president, he just wishes the president would die.
[Catherwood:] In that last sermon, the one about Caitlyn Jenner, he kept saying it and we our kids, look around you, our children have to be exposed to this. I honestly I mean this sincerely, I would much rather my child is exposed to transgender than that kind of language, wishing death upon someone is really I mean that is a grotesque abuse of human interaction.
[Pinsky:] Vanessa, what I keep hearing from Christian sort of establishment is that it is a world view that is being sort of taken down by people like Caitlyn Jenner, but this guy is espousing violence and hatred. Is not that a world view that is coming apart?
[Barnett:] And, I do not think anyone in the community would agree with him either. I think what happens is that, we do have a certain code that we live by. We do live by the bible. We do believe with what the bible says. But also, you cannot believe one-half of the bible without leaving the other and God loves everyone. Everyone is God`s child. So, when you speak that way and want someone to die because of their choices. You can say, I do not agree with those choices. I would never recommend those choices. I do not understand those choices, but when you say you want someone to die and go to hell, that is not of God.
[Pinsky:] According to the church`s website, that pastor, quote, "Holds no college degree, but has well over 140 chapters of the bible memorized word for word."
[Catherwood:] Well, so what? I mean I memorized "Scarface" word for word. Does that make me capable of telling you about drug dealing?
[Pinsky:] In the audience, I have Aurora Persi Persichetti, sorry, Aurora. Transgender YouTuber. And, I am wondering, and your brother also a transgender, how do you guys react to this?
[Aurora Persichetti, Transgender Youtuber:] Well, it is hard where to even start, I do not even know.
[Sasha Persichetti, Aurora Persichetti`s Transgender Sibling/brother:] Well, for me, I was just talking to my mom, actually, about it this morning. I, personally, have gone through calling myself all of those things, and having that reaction
[Pinsky:] Meaning Meaning wanting to harm yourself?
[Sasha Persichetti:] Well, just, thinking I am messed up, I should not love myself. I am, you know, everything that everyone is saying bad things about the transgender community, I have said it to myself many times and had to find a way to kind of breakthrough that in order to love myself. So, it is kind of weird that I can find it so understandable that people would have that reaction, because I have been there, you know? And, I was able to get passed it, because loving myself is the only thing I can do, you know?
[Insky:] Aurora, can you relate to that?
[Aurora Persichetti:] Yes. Well, that video was like absolutely ridiculous. I do not even know why that needs to be, like, discussed, first of all, because that was like really?
[Pinsky:] Well, I will tell you why. I will tell you why. I keep hearing the transgender community feels attacked, feels like under, you know, being judged, and your brother just said the same thing, that he was taking it on himself. I mean not only were other people attacking him. He was attacking himself. I want to understand that. I do not experience that in my life, but where is that coming from, why do you feel that way? And, then I hear something like that, it starts to make sense to me. But, that is not the average experience in the world, is not it?
[Aurora Persichetti:] Well, I still, even though I am like, I am I say I am happy with myself. I look in the mirror, I am like, "You are beautiful," or I hear people say, "You are so confident." I am like here on T.V., I still have such a hard time loving myself. And, I think that is the case for everybody.
[Barnett:] Right.
[Aurora Persichetti:] And everybody is finding it hard
[Catherwood:] I also think it is important to expose and let this type of hatred be seen, because a lot of times, you know, the word transphobic or homophobic or racist gets thrown around. And, you know, in my opinion, a lot of times it is misguided. And, you need to show this kind of stuff to expose what real hatred is, what real narrow-minded thinking is. And, to see, like, what that that truly exists. That is not mispronouncing pronouns. That is not getting your language that is hatred.
[Pinsky:] Yes.
[Roberts:] The problem is, it is in a leadership role, and when someone is already feeling uncomfortable with the skin they are in, right? When a leader comes there and says some things so damaging and so hateful, it can really impact other people. Just like what you were saying earlier, it can reinforce something you are struggling with. And, that is so, so dangerous to somebody who is feeling really insecure with who they are in the moment.
[Pinsky:] Joining me from the audience, I have James White. He is a director of "Alpha & Omega Ministries." And, James, you do not agree with that guy, but you also do not agree with Caitlyn Jenner`s public, public coming out.
[James White, Director Of "alpha & Omega Ministries":] That is true. It is unfortunately that Steven Anderson is even getting the press time that he is getting, because that is why he does what he does. Believe me, he has preached more sermons against me, personally, than everybody else combined. So, unfortunately, in the Phoenix, we know a lot about this fellow. But unfortunately, that also distracts from the real discussion, and that is, when we are talking about what happened in regards to the Jenner situation, are we talking about something that is good for him and his family, and his grandchildren, or is there something that could have been better? Unfortunately, that distracts from it.
[Pinsky:] What could have been better?
[White:] Well, I am a grandfather like he is. And, I cannot imagine changing the relationship that I have with my wife, with my children, with my grandchildren in doing what he did. I wish he could have found someone who could have encouraged him to see that there was a purpose in the way that from a Christian world view A believing Christian world view, not the Steven Anderson world view that he was created by God for a purpose and that he could find that purpose if he but pursue it and get the help to o so from the believing community.
[Pinsky:] And, let me switch over to you, guys, who have been before and after transition. What if somebody had approached you like that, either of you? Would that made a difference? Would reinforced your negative feelings about yourself? How would that have been received?
[Sasha Persichetti:] I think like with anything, it just comes down to you finding your way. No one It might be the way people have told you, it is the best way, but until you come to it yourself, you are not going to go through it the same way. And for me, I have tried every different I have tried to be really feminine and do this. I have tried the to do the other way. You know, I have gone about a lot of ways that I thought was right or people told me to. And, until everything clicked for me in the path that I have now, have I felt confident enough to take it. So, I do not know what the case is for other people, but I know for myself, I had to come to it on my own.
[Aurora Persichetti:] And, the way that we are created, trans people, I was born with a female brain. You do a cat scan of us, we were born with the brain of a man, brain of a woman. So, we are not changing something, we are just making things right and externally becoming who we are inside.
[Pinsky:] Next up, Caitlyn Jenner is being honored at the ESPYs with the Arthur Ashe Courage award, and others are being thought of this, perhaps, more deserving. We will get into that, after this.