Kanye West Is Set to Speak at an Anti-LGBTQ+ Evangelical Summit

Kanye West will be the big celebrity speaker at the Awaken 2020 event, a huge evangelical gathering set for Saturday at a football stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

While it's no surprise that West has embraced Christianity as of late, his Awaken 2020 appearance—which will include his Sunday Service choir—is raising many eyebrows, since it features a who's who of anti-LGBTQ+ preachers. 

Most notable are Ché Ahn, Lou Engle, and Cindy Jacobs. Right Wing Watch detailed the disturbing public stances of these individuals, of which nearly all are devoted Donald Trump acolytes (including West).

Ahn, a senior pastor at HRock Church, has long advocated against LGBTQ+ equality and does not believe in a separation of church (specifically Christianity) and state. Ahn previously called marriage equality illegitimate and equated it with racist U.S. laws. 

Engle leads The Call, an organization that holds prayer rallies around the globe. Engle is against women's autonomy and LGBTQ+ rights; he advocated for Uganda's "Kill the Gays" bill, a proposed piece of legislation that would have sentenced certain gays to life in prison or the death penalty, after saying he wouldn't. Engle has also called for God to "sweep away" Supreme Court justices who will uphold Roe v. Wade, like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan.

Jacobs, of Generals International, advocates against abortion rights and LGBTQ+ equality, even claiming God killed birds after "don't ask, don't tell" was repealed. Jacobs also claimed the Equality Act, proposed legislation that would ban anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in housing and employment, would incite a civil war.

Other Awaken 2020 speakers include David Herzog and Guillermo Maldonado, the latter of which said Trump was part of God's plan to usher in America's end.