Rachel Maddow has denied that she holds
a leadership position on gay rights, saying that maybe a straight
person would be the better candidate.
Maddow became the first openly lesbian
woman to host a cable television show when MSNBC premiered The
Rachel Maddow Show more than 3 years ago.
In an interview with Slate,
Maddow says she isn't out to change the nation on gay rights.
“I don't think about it that much,”
Maddow answered when asked how she decides on whether to discuss gay
politics on her show. “I think the interaction of me being openly
gay and me talking about gay politics; the thing that mostly happens
is that I sort of get attacked for talking about it too much whenever
I talk about it.”
“I feel like gay rights issues get
essentially considered like all others,” she said.
Maddow added that maybe a straight
person would be a more effective voice for gay rights.
“Maybe people don't want to hear
about it from a gay person. Maybe the person who has the leadership
position on this is the straight politician. I am not trying to
change the country,” Maddow said.