The wonderful Tammy Faye Messner died Friday.
She passed just a few days after taping an interview on "Larry King Live" when she said: "I believe when I leave this Earth, because I love the Lord, I'm going straight to heaven." Tammy Faye was just 65 and I know there are many people who are greatly saddened by her death - people who got to know her through the films "Tammy Faye: Death Defying" and "The Eyes of Tammy Faye." We learned all about her in these films, about her past as the wife of Jim Bakker, their fall from grace, and how she never lost her sense of humor or spirit through any of it. She also was a champion for gay rights and is beloved by the community because of that - well, that and her trademark false eyelashes.
I met Tammy Faye two years ago at Outfest after the screening of "Death Defying" and she was so warm and full of love...and so funny. So here we are at Outfest 2007 with five films in the "Queer in Christ" series and it's worth noting that Tammy Faye Messner was a Christian woman who loved us, who loved everybody and didn't judge.
God bless her soul.