Producer's behind my husband's not gay
Executive summary
The special My Husband’s Not Gay was produced for TLC by Hot Snakes Media and lists multiple executive producers — including Eric Evangelista, Shannon Evangelista, Jon Hirsch, Jonathan Partridge, Howard Lee and Alon Orstein — in credits compiled by IMDb and trade listings [1] [2]. The program drew intense criticism on air for promoting the idea that men with same‑sex attraction can or should live heterosexually, sparking a large Change.org petition and pushback from LGBT advocacy groups [3] [4].
1. Who the credits say made the show
Public credits identify Hot Snakes Media as the production company behind My Husband’s Not Gay and list named executive producers in industry databases: IMDb and Moviefone reproduce credits showing Eric Evangelista and Shannon Evangelista among the executive producers and add Jonathan Partridge, Howard Lee and Alon Orstein to that list [1] [2] [4].
2. When and where it aired — and an editorial discrepancy
Contemporaneous summaries place the special on TLC in early 2015, with Wikipedia reporting a January 11, 2015 premiere and other summaries indicating an early‑2015 broadcast from Salt Lake City, Utah, where the program filmed four Mormon couples [3] [4]; available sources note a minor discrepancy in the exact air date across outlets rather than disputing the program’s existence or setting [3] [4].
3. The program’s narrative and the producers’ editorial choices
Reporting and critiques describe the show’s focus on “same‑sex attraction” (SSA) and the couples’ assertions that they do not identify as gay — a narrative construction that critics argue was shaped by production choices to emphasize sensational moments and tidy narratives for television [5] [6]. Media analysis notes that reality TV’s framing and editing are not neutral, and several critics fault the producers for presenting a one‑sided, entertaining portrayal rather than a nuanced exploration [7] [6].
4. Criticism, organized opposition and alleged institutional ties
After airing, a Change.org petition garnered more than 100,000 supporters demanding TLC pull the special; advocacy groups including GLAAD and Truth Wins Out publicly criticized the program as endorsing ideas tied to discredited “ex‑gay” rhetoric [3] [4]. Investigative commentary further reported that several participants were affiliated with organizations connected to the ex‑gay movement, and argued the show thus implicitly advanced that agenda — a charge aimed at both on‑screen subjects and the production’s decision to platform their views [7] [4].
5. Defense from network/production and limits of available reporting
TLC defended the broadcast by saying the views depicted were those of the participants, not an institutional editorial line [7], and the production company’s credits do not, by themselves, reveal private motivations or editorial directives; reporting available in these sources documents the producers’ names and the public controversy but does not provide direct internal memos or on‑the‑record statements from every producer about intent [1] [2] [4] [7].
6. Motives, incentives and what can be concluded
Industry incentives — ratings, social media virality and the format economics of reality TV — help explain why producers foregrounded provocative framing that critics call sensationalist [6]; simultaneously, documented ties between participants and organizations described as part of the ex‑gay milieu raise plausible concerns that the special functioned, intentionally or not, as a platform for those ideas [7] [4]. Available reporting supports naming the production company and credited executive producers, documents public criticism and protest, and shows how editorial choices can amplify particular ideologies; it does not, however, supply documentary proof of a singular producer conspiracy or internal editorial directive beyond what has been publicly stated [1] [2] [7].