Star’s date with Destiny
Pop star Stan Walker is to headline a Destiny Church-affiliated men’s event alongside Brian Tamaki this weekend despite the outcry over Tamaki’s comments about gay people.
The executive director of Rainbow Youth, an organisation which helps young gay people, has called on Walker to reconsider his decision to appear at the Man Up organisation’s event at Destiny Church headquarters on Saturday.
Walker’s agent, David Champion, has not responded to repeated requests for comments as to why Walker is sharing a platform with Tamaki.
Tamaki caused a storm after linked the cause of earthquakes to ‘‘sinners’’ and homosexuality.
In a post on Tamaki’s Facebook page on Sunday, before the 7.8 earthquake, he claimed ‘‘human sin’’ – or homosexual activity – was responsible for natural disasters. ‘‘Leviticus says that the earth convulses under the weight of certain human sin,’’ he said.
‘‘It spews itself up after a while – that’s natural disasters. Because nature was never created to carry the bondage of our inequity.’’
Rainbow Youth’s Duncan Matthews urged Walker to think about the message his appearance at the Man Up conference was sending.
‘‘I’d urge him to consider the kaupapa, the message that he’s aligning himself with by appearing at this event or appearing on stage with Brian Tamaki.’’
Walker recently cancelled a tour of New Zealand to care for his mother, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Two days after Tamaki’s sermon made headlines, Walker tweeted: ‘‘Love God & love people. Love all people for all that they are. Love conquers all.’’
Tamaki’s comments have sparked widespread criticism, including from Prime Minister John Key, who told Radio Live: ‘‘It’s ridiculous, isn’t it. I mean, give me a break . . . you always get people coming out with these stupid statements.’’
A petition on the change.org website asking the Government to strip Destiny of its tax-free status in the light of Tamaki’s comments now has over 120,000 signatories.