Woman's Homophobic Rant Over Last Man Standing's Cancellation Got Her Canned

There has been plenty of news to inspire outrage this week, like Donald Trump’s specious timing of the firing of FBI director James Comey and his sharing of classified information from Israel with Russian officials. While concerned Americans demand he be impeached or at least investigated (a special counsel to investigate was appointed Wednesday), fans of Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing, which ABC canceled last week after six seasons, have begun to resist, threatening to boycott the network if it doesn’t bring it back, and signing a petition for renewal claiming that it was “the only sitcom that is not constantly shoving liberal ideals down the throats of the viewers.” But, hey, it’s good to be passionate about something while the man with his finger on the button shares secrets with foreign governments.

The executive director of the Madison-Rivergate Chamber of Commerce in suburban Nashville, Debbie Odom Massey, was so enraged about the show’s cancellation that she went on a homophobic Facebook rant that went viral. Shortly after blowing off that steam, she was asked to resign, according to The Tennessean. She likely missed the part of the cancellation announcements where ABC also axed The Real O’Neals, the coming-of-age story of a gay Catholic teen and his conservative mom who struggles to evolve.

“I can’t believe that I am supposed to be ok with shows like Grays Anatomy or Nashville or any other show that promotes LGBT blah blah blah.., WHATEVER!” Massey wrote on Facebook. “Cramming same sex making out into our Homes! But I can’t watch MY FAVORITE show!‘Last Man Standing! Talk about discrimination!!

While Massey and the writer of the petition to renew Last Man Standing, a show whose star, Allen, once likened being a conservative in Hollywood to living in 1930s Germany, blame the network executives’ liberalism for the cancellation, ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey said that the series was canceled for the same business and scheduling reasons The Real O’Neals, The Catch (from Grey’s Anatomy producer Shonda Rhimes), and American Crime (an issues series with incredible diversity) were canceled, according to AV Club.

Still, Massey took the loss of her favorite show personally enough to risk her standing in the community and in her position at the Chamber of Commerce, which promotes diversity in business, so she shouted in partial all caps at the network.

“ABC needs to listen to the majority — not the 2% — Afraid of lawsuit? Maybe we should scream, riot, wine and create law suits against EVERYBODY that doesn’t make us feel good, then we can get our way!!” she wrote. “Last Man Standing also offered the counter viewpoint ... it’s not like you didn’t hear the other side. It is obvious they wish to only present their views and only wish to INDOCTRINATE people. We live in a country of FREE speech, if we believe it we should practice it and not support those who suppress it!”

The Change.org petition, which has amassed more than 265,000 signatures, asserts, “Last Man Standing stands out in the sea of network television sitcoms. It is a show that appeals to a broad swath of Americans who find very few shows that extol the virtues with which they can identify; namely conservative values.”

While it truly feels lousy when a favorite show has been canceled, Last Man Standing fans may want to celebrate what a privilege it is for them to be in a position to think that the cancellation of a sitcom constitutes discrimination.