Two members of the Westboro Baptist Church – aka, the people who like to show up at military funerals with “God Hates Fags” signs – appeared on Russell Brand’s new talk show. Brand (who was wearing a necklace with a bunch of small crosses on it) was exceedingly fair, giving the guys a chance to talk about their views and their faith even though the audience clearly wanted nothing to do with them. I go back and forth on whether I think Brand is funny and I’m really glad that he and Katy Perry split up so I don’t have to see them in the tabloids anymore, but he does a bang-up job with this interview. He manages to be fair and polite while also asking some pretty tough questions.
Should you not want to sit through eleven minutes of these Westboro guys throwing around slurs (I wouldn’t blame you) and attempting to explain their theology, I’ve highlighted a few of Brand’s best quotes from the interview, helpfully out of context.
1. “I’m English, so “fag pimp” just means “cigarette?”
2. “One at a time! You will all get a chance to speak … in hell.”
3. “It’s like a really tricky quiz of hate!”
4. “Imagine Gandhi in a pointy bra in hell.”
5. “The Holy Spirit ain’t got a pen.”