Anita Bryant, 1940--2025
January 9, 2025 9:57 PM Subscribe
'"The thing to remember is that Anita Bryant won that battle initially, but she did not win that war,” said the historian Julio Capó Jr'. 'Bryant's public victory became her private devastation. Students listed Bryant as the "woman who had done the most damage in the world" in a 1978 Ladies Home Journal poll. The man they picked was Adolf Hitler.' Anti-gay rights campaigner Anita Bryant has died at the age of 84.
What a terrible person she was to those who were most vulnerable.
posted by Carillon at 10:13 PM on January 9 [13 favorites]
posted by Carillon at 10:13 PM on January 9 [13 favorites]
What's the opposite of a dot?
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 10:14 PM on January 9 [25 favorites]
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 10:14 PM on January 9 [25 favorites]
something something "I have read some obituary notices with great satisfaction." Good riddance to the JK Rowling of the 70's.
posted by Hardcore Poser at 10:18 PM on January 9 [22 favorites]
posted by Hardcore Poser at 10:18 PM on January 9 [22 favorites]
π
posted by onehalfjunco at 10:20 PM on January 9 [16 favorites]
posted by onehalfjunco at 10:20 PM on January 9 [16 favorites]
I did not realize she was so young.
posted by Keith Talent at 10:30 PM on January 9 [5 favorites]
posted by Keith Talent at 10:30 PM on January 9 [5 favorites]
Byeeeeeee!
posted by klanawa at 10:42 PM on January 9 [2 favorites]
posted by klanawa at 10:42 PM on January 9 [2 favorites]
Rest in piss.
posted by kiblinger at 10:45 PM on January 9 [12 favorites]
posted by kiblinger at 10:45 PM on January 9 [12 favorites]
Earlier this evening I watched her get that pie in the face one more time. I hope the folks who find peace in this are all the people she harmed, most particularly her granddaughter and her granddaughter's wife.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 10:54 PM on January 9 [16 favorites]
posted by gentlyepigrams at 10:54 PM on January 9 [16 favorites]
To me she was always dead
posted by robbyrobs at 11:16 PM on January 9 [16 favorites]
posted by robbyrobs at 11:16 PM on January 9 [16 favorites]
What's the opposite of a dot?"At last!"
posted by Blue Jello Elf
posted by DoctorFedora at 11:29 PM on January 9 [4 favorites]
Burn in hell
posted by june_dodecahedron at 11:35 PM on January 9 [2 favorites]
posted by june_dodecahedron at 11:35 PM on January 9 [2 favorites]
you know, maybe it's just me, but I aim to live a life where when I die, I don't have entire communities finding joy in that death
posted by i used to be someone else at 11:46 PM on January 9 [41 favorites]
posted by i used to be someone else at 11:46 PM on January 9 [41 favorites]
First Le Pen, now Bryant…
There are people whose lives are celebrated (Jimmy Carter, Maggie Smith) and people whose deaths are celebrated. The latter may be a more exclusive club; let’s keep it that way?
posted by apathy at 12:00 AM on January 10 [5 favorites]
There are people whose lives are celebrated (Jimmy Carter, Maggie Smith) and people whose deaths are celebrated. The latter may be a more exclusive club; let’s keep it that way?
posted by apathy at 12:00 AM on January 10 [5 favorites]
> What's the opposite of a dot?
In increasing order of bytelen:
+
:)
\o/
🎉
posted by Callisto Prime at 12:06 AM on January 10 [8 favorites]
In increasing order of bytelen:
+
:)
\o/
🎉
posted by Callisto Prime at 12:06 AM on January 10 [8 favorites]
Well now the pie is her second biggest surprise ever
posted by Chef Flamboyardee at 12:13 AM on January 10 [15 favorites]
posted by Chef Flamboyardee at 12:13 AM on January 10 [15 favorites]
Many a day without sunshine from here on in.
posted by non canadian guy at 12:33 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
posted by non canadian guy at 12:33 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
"You should never say bad things about the dead, you should only say good. Anita Bryant is dead. Good."
- Bette Davis (adapted)
posted by Karmeliet at 12:44 AM on January 10 [24 favorites]
- Bette Davis (adapted)
posted by Karmeliet at 12:44 AM on January 10 [24 favorites]
Bye Felicia
posted by ursus_comiter at 12:46 AM on January 10 [13 favorites]
posted by ursus_comiter at 12:46 AM on January 10 [13 favorites]
As with many horrible people, labor historian Erik Loomis has prepared a biting obituary for Bryant. His conclusion here is particularly fitting:
In 2021, Bryant’s granddaughter married another woman. And that’s the best place to end this obituary.posted by NoxAeternum at 12:54 AM on January 10 [27 favorites]
“And I hope Anita Bryant never ever does one of my songs
No, no, no”
I know who I’d rather hang out with!
posted by drewbage1847 at 12:57 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
No, no, no”
I know who I’d rather hang out with!
posted by drewbage1847 at 12:57 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
She was still alive? News to me.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:26 AM on January 10 [7 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:26 AM on January 10 [7 favorites]
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
posted by tommasz at 1:34 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
posted by tommasz at 1:34 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
She was still alive? News to me.
Apparently, not for a few weeks. Seems her family held onto the news to prevent those she abused and attacked from using the holidays to celebrate her passing.
posted by NoxAeternum at 1:36 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
Apparently, not for a few weeks. Seems her family held onto the news to prevent those she abused and attacked from using the holidays to celebrate her passing.
posted by NoxAeternum at 1:36 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
For what it's worth I agree with that decision. We should create an all new holiday to celebrate her passing, not hijack an old one.
posted by Ashenmote at 2:01 AM on January 10 [22 favorites]
posted by Ashenmote at 2:01 AM on January 10 [22 favorites]
I was a teenager when she was doing her worst. I remember her being widely condemned in the print media I consumed. She'd fit right in these days.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 3:05 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
posted by Mr. Yuck at 3:05 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
In these dark times, I'll take all the good news I can get. Even if her family weren't sure when to break the good news to the rest of us
🎉
posted by revmitcz at 3:31 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
🎉
posted by revmitcz at 3:31 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
🥧
posted by gc at 4:42 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
posted by gc at 4:42 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
🥧.
May she have the afterlife she earned.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 4:46 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
May she have the afterlife she earned.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 4:46 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
I try not to be crass online but: rot in piss, Anita
posted by Kitteh at 4:53 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 4:53 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
Hollywood Reporter had a good article too. It's interesting to me that she was cancelled in 1980, just a year or two after her hate campaign. Partly by decent people putting on pressure because of her bigotry. But also by her hateful friends because she got divorced which made her anathema to the "family values" crowd. There's some misogyny at play there, also maybe the natural cycle of a beauty queen / singer getting older. But mostly it was just desserts.
It is remarkable she died nearly a month ago and we're only finding out. That her family held the news. And that no one in the public cared enough to notice or gossip about it. She was so irrelevant now that her death didn't register.
posted by Nelson at 4:54 AM on January 10 [7 favorites]
It is remarkable she died nearly a month ago and we're only finding out. That her family held the news. And that no one in the public cared enough to notice or gossip about it. She was so irrelevant now that her death didn't register.
posted by Nelson at 4:54 AM on January 10 [7 favorites]
🥧
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 5:24 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 5:24 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
From Nelson's Hollywood Reporter link:
Gay rights activists targeted her and launched a nationwide boycott of Florida orange juice. Bars stopped serving screwdrivers, replacing them with a mixture of vodka and apple juice called the Anita Bryant cocktail.
I'll have my spite on the rocks with a twist of schadenfreude, please.
posted by signal at 5:27 AM on January 10 [5 favorites]
Gay rights activists targeted her and launched a nationwide boycott of Florida orange juice. Bars stopped serving screwdrivers, replacing them with a mixture of vodka and apple juice called the Anita Bryant cocktail.
I'll have my spite on the rocks with a twist of schadenfreude, please.
posted by signal at 5:27 AM on January 10 [5 favorites]
Don't worry if you miss hearing her: Fox News has dug up her grave and given her rotting corpse its own show, powered by an AI trained on the text of Mein Kampf (Simple English Edition).
J.K. Rowling had an unfortunate accident with a rabid ferret (the ferret is reportedly doing fine), so John Fetterman stepped in to be her first guest.
posted by AlSweigart at 5:39 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
J.K. Rowling had an unfortunate accident with a rabid ferret (the ferret is reportedly doing fine), so John Fetterman stepped in to be her first guest.
posted by AlSweigart at 5:39 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
✅
posted by cotton dress sock at 5:40 AM on January 10
posted by cotton dress sock at 5:40 AM on January 10
> She was still alive? News to me.
Apparently, not for a few weeks.
No, see, I thought she'd died sometime in the 90s, that's how much of a non-entity I considered her.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:40 AM on January 10 [6 favorites]
Apparently, not for a few weeks.
No, see, I thought she'd died sometime in the 90s, that's how much of a non-entity I considered her.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:40 AM on January 10 [6 favorites]
I wish that I could say that it's been decades since I even thought about her, but she popped up in a documentary about Gaetan Dugas, the man who was falsely accused of being "Patient Zero" in the early AIDS epidemic. For him and all the others who suffered even more because of the efforts of this hateful woman:
.
For her, nothing.
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:41 AM on January 10 [7 favorites]
.
For her, nothing.
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:41 AM on January 10 [7 favorites]
(If you want to watch the documentary, which I thought was quite good, it's here.)
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:42 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:42 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
I had a moment’s fleeting curiosity about what she did before being the orange juice lady before I realized I didn’t care.
posted by Lemkin at 5:44 AM on January 10
posted by Lemkin at 5:44 AM on January 10
Damn Chef Flamboyardee!! I can't even favorite that on account of I might catch my own self a surprise on indirect accident!
posted by riverlife at 5:54 AM on January 10
posted by riverlife at 5:54 AM on January 10
What's the opposite of a dot?
*
Whenever I see a lone asterix surrounded by whitespace, for some reason it always reminds me of a cat's arsehole. So entirely appropriate.
posted by Absolutely No You-Know-What at 5:57 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
*
Whenever I see a lone asterix surrounded by whitespace, for some reason it always reminds me of a cat's arsehole. So entirely appropriate.
posted by Absolutely No You-Know-What at 5:57 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
I somehow had never heard of this asshole, as far as I can recall. Lucky me! I will admit to much confusion this morning at the excitement, as I know a truly virtuous woman whose life is basically the opposite of this woman's, and it was briefly mystifying/horrifying.
posted by cupcakeninja at 6:19 AM on January 10
posted by cupcakeninja at 6:19 AM on January 10
(*)
posted by blendor at 6:37 AM on January 10 [2 favorites]
posted by blendor at 6:37 AM on January 10 [2 favorites]
lighter trivia: Grateful Dead often had guests, family, and hanger-ons with them at their recording sessions. When they needed more privacy, they tacked a notecard with "Anita Bryant Sessions" on their studio door.
posted by ovvl at 6:38 AM on January 10 [10 favorites]
posted by ovvl at 6:38 AM on January 10 [10 favorites]
I thought she was already dead.
posted by SoberHighland at 7:02 AM on January 10 [2 favorites]
posted by SoberHighland at 7:02 AM on January 10 [2 favorites]
[Mods, please review headline. Wikipedia currently documents her death as occuring Dec 16 2024, not 2025.]
posted by zaixfeep at 7:22 AM on January 10 [2 favorites]
posted by zaixfeep at 7:22 AM on January 10 [2 favorites]
Thomas Lawrence Higgins was the gay activist who threw the most famous cream pie in American history. He died of HIV 30 years ago. May his name be remembered and hers be forgotten.
posted by ottereroticist at 7:38 AM on January 10 [28 favorites]
posted by ottereroticist at 7:38 AM on January 10 [28 favorites]
She wasn't on the 2024 death list.
I guess that's at least one way 2024 exceeded expectations?
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 7:57 AM on January 10 [2 favorites]
I guess that's at least one way 2024 exceeded expectations?
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 7:57 AM on January 10 [2 favorites]
So, the Florida orange industry and her career are two things she blighted with her touch.
Gratefully, she showed her colors at a time when being a repellent bigot was not a FOX-friendly rebrand.
"Ah, Kirk, my old friend,
do you know the Klingon proverb
that tells us revenge is a dish
that is
best served cold?
It is very cold in space."
It is, however, surpassing hot in Hell.
posted by the sobsister at 8:21 AM on January 10
Gratefully, she showed her colors at a time when being a repellent bigot was not a FOX-friendly rebrand.
"Ah, Kirk, my old friend,
do you know the Klingon proverb
that tells us revenge is a dish
that is
best served cold?
It is very cold in space."
It is, however, surpassing hot in Hell.
posted by the sobsister at 8:21 AM on January 10
One down too many to go.
posted by jvbthegolfer at 8:44 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
posted by jvbthegolfer at 8:44 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
Her hatred is her legacy - I have only ever heard of her for her homophobia. No one will remember anything else she did.
posted by jb at 8:51 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
posted by jb at 8:51 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
Another example of a so-called “Christian” giving that designation a bad name. I was young enough when she started spewing her vile crap to think wow, this was the very definition of a hypocrite.
No dot for you, Anita. But thanks for waking me up to the craven rot within much organized religion.
posted by kinnakeet at 8:57 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
No dot for you, Anita. But thanks for waking me up to the craven rot within much organized religion.
posted by kinnakeet at 8:57 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]
Good riddance to a vicious bigot.
posted by Pouteria at 9:46 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
posted by Pouteria at 9:46 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
My co-workers, all in their 20s and 30s, never heard of her. Win!
posted by olopua at 10:18 AM on January 10 [8 favorites]
posted by olopua at 10:18 AM on January 10 [8 favorites]
She was one of the best punchlines in Airplane!
posted by nickggully at 11:11 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
posted by nickggully at 11:11 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
*
posted by Spike Glee at 11:18 AM on January 10
posted by Spike Glee at 11:18 AM on January 10
While the impending apocalypse keeps going on, at least we can take a small portion of pleasure in the defeat of the old ones by the great equalizer, even if justice ultimately was far too slow... Like Kissinger last year, I can only think the same thing, which is "good". Too late, too long and fruitful a life, but finally. One more bigot in the ground.
posted by symbioid at 11:24 AM on January 10 [2 favorites]
posted by symbioid at 11:24 AM on January 10 [2 favorites]
🥧
posted by lock robster at 11:35 AM on January 10
posted by lock robster at 11:35 AM on January 10
Harvey Milk's blood is on her hands. May she rot in hell.
posted by brujita at 12:12 PM on January 10 [2 favorites]
posted by brujita at 12:12 PM on January 10 [2 favorites]
*
Clearing stuff out at the end of my aunt's life, I came across a copy of an Olivia Records compilation called "Lesbian Concentrate," which was a response to when that horrible "part-time orange juice pusher started to rant against homosexuals."
Worth a listen.
Wiki page on Olivia Records (which rejected Melissa Etheridge's demo!!) for those interested.
posted by kensington314 at 12:31 PM on January 10 [1 favorite]
Clearing stuff out at the end of my aunt's life, I came across a copy of an Olivia Records compilation called "Lesbian Concentrate," which was a response to when that horrible "part-time orange juice pusher started to rant against homosexuals."
Worth a listen.
Wiki page on Olivia Records (which rejected Melissa Etheridge's demo!!) for those interested.
posted by kensington314 at 12:31 PM on January 10 [1 favorite]
Look at GOAT Carol Burnett sing about how the promised land is gay while making fun of Bryant.
posted by signal at 12:34 PM on January 10 [9 favorites]
posted by signal at 12:34 PM on January 10 [9 favorites]
One more bigot in the ground.
Well done, symbioid.
Not the epitaph she got, but the epitaph she deserved.
posted by BlueHorse at 1:20 PM on January 10 [1 favorite]
Well done, symbioid.
Not the epitaph she got, but the epitaph she deserved.
posted by BlueHorse at 1:20 PM on January 10 [1 favorite]
Some people live their lives like a candle in the wind. For Anita Bryant, she lived her life like a fart in a crowded elevator.
posted by LeRoienJaune at 1:27 PM on January 10 [9 favorites]
posted by LeRoienJaune at 1:27 PM on January 10 [9 favorites]
Good.
posted by ob1quixote at 6:17 AM on January 11
posted by ob1quixote at 6:17 AM on January 11
*
posted by EvaDestruction at 1:51 PM on January 11
posted by EvaDestruction at 1:51 PM on January 11
I wish I was sure that she had, in fact, lost the war.
Looks to me like the war continues and her side is on the rise right now.
As for Bryant herself, I'd piss on her grave except that means I'd have to travel to Oklahoma and living in Texas is bad enough for me.
posted by sotonohito at 3:07 PM on January 11
Looks to me like the war continues and her side is on the rise right now.
As for Bryant herself, I'd piss on her grave except that means I'd have to travel to Oklahoma and living in Texas is bad enough for me.
posted by sotonohito at 3:07 PM on January 11
Chef Flamboyardee: Well now the pie is her second biggest surprise ever
I wish I could favorite this more than once.
kirkaracha: So it goes.
Beat me to it - for those who don't know, that link goes to an explanation of why we use an asterisk as the opposite of a period in obit threads (short answer: Kurt Vonnegut)
posted by tzikeh at 9:32 PM on January 11 [1 favorite]
I wish I could favorite this more than once.
kirkaracha: So it goes.
Beat me to it - for those who don't know, that link goes to an explanation of why we use an asterisk as the opposite of a period in obit threads (short answer: Kurt Vonnegut)
posted by tzikeh at 9:32 PM on January 11 [1 favorite]
"As a mother, I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children; therefore, they must recruit our children" and "If gays are granted rights, next we'll have to give rights to prostitutes and to people who sleep with St. Bernards and to nail biters."
There are so many of them, these hateful twerps
posted by ginger.beef at 7:22 PM on January 12
There are so many of them, these hateful twerps
posted by ginger.beef at 7:22 PM on January 12
Came here to post the Carol Burnett clip - recommend watching it, she's amazing
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 1:18 PM on January 13
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 1:18 PM on January 13
« Older One bag to rule them all | Ruff love Newer »
She was a narcissistic asshole.
posted by orange swan at 10:08 PM on January 9 [13 favorites]