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| Victoria Jackson |
Jackson is featured in the Joe Piscopo & Stars of Saturday Night Live show scheduled for July 22 and 23 at the Avalon Ballroom in the Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ont.
According to a spokesman, the casino didn't specifically invite Jackson. “The contractual arrangement for the show is between Fallsview Casino and Mr. Piscopo only,” explains Greg Medulun, director of communications for the resort, which is owned by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and operated by Toronto-based consortium Falls Management Company.
Jackson sparked a fury of criticism with a March 18 posting on WorldNetDaily.com in which she wrote: “Frankly, I'm afraid to say anything about Muslims. Why? Because they kill people. Maybe that's why the liberals kiss up to them – fear … Progressives, communists, liberals, globalists and Muslims want to destroy America. When that goal is reached, they will fight for top billing. It will be bloody.”
She went on to criticize Muslims for resisting new screening techniques at airports. “Heaven forbid they be treated like the rest of us! This is ridiculous! How many bombs do you think you can hide under one of those big, black sheets?”
Jackson concluded: “Not only are they plotting our demise, but laughing at our stupidity, mocking our open arms and freedom, demanding rights above our own and soon the transformation of our churches and synagogues into mosques.”
Her rant also targeted gays, describing two men kissing on the mouth as “ridiculous.” She wrote: “Everyone knows that two men on a wedding cake is a comedy skit, not an ‘alternate lifestyle’! There I said it! Ridiculous!”
Calling a kiss between two male characters on Glee “sickening,” Jackson said producers of the hit show are “shoving the gay thing down our throats.”
Accused of being homophobic on CNN’s Showbiz Tonight, Jackson responded: “That’s a cute little buzzword of the liberal agenda. Basically, the Bible says that homosexuality is a sin.”
Jackson, a once-divorced 51-year-old grandmother, said schools should teach celibacy and STDs “instead of making kids gay.”
Jackson, who was part of the Saturday Night Live ensemble from 1986 to 1992, is a devout Christian and Tea Party supporter who has called U.S. President Barack Obama a communist.
Some Fallsview regulars who learned of Jackson’s upcoming appearance are already talking about boycotting the casino this summer or organizing a protest on the dates of the shows.
“Islam doesn’t allow gambling so the casino probably isn’t too concerned about offending Muslims but it’s a fairly popular destination for gays and lesbians,” said frequent Fallsview visitor Darren Abbott. “And, regardless, I don’t think a publicly-owned facility should be welcoming someone so hateful.”
Canada’s hate speech law prohibits individuals from “communicating statements” that “willfully promote hatred against any identifiable group” but exempts opinions “on a religious subject.”
