I Love Joel Osteen!': Cher Angers Gay Fans After Tweeting Praise for Popular Christian Preacher

Pop singer Cher has already made it known that she cannot stand Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his "right wing racist homophobic women hating tea bagging masters" (she tweeted this back in May). But, on the flip side, the music legend loves Christian Pastor Joel Osteen, a popular televangelist who is well-known for his positivity and charm (two attributes that have clearly captivated the songstress).

Cher took to Twitter on Monday, where she posted positive accolades about the preacher. To her surprise, many of her fans became angry, citing Osteen's views on gay marriage as a reason why the star -- whose daughter Chastity Bono (now "Chaz") recently went through gender re-assignment surgery -- shouldn't support him.

(Related: Cher Goes on Twitter Rant Against Romney & His ‘Racist Homophobic Women-Hating Tea-Bagger Masters’)

"I love Joel Osteen, hes example of Christian!," she Tweeted on July 2. "He makes Every1 feel welcome 2 his church no matter who they R! 1st book like this I ever bought."

She followed this tweet up with another message about Osteen, writing, "I know this Sounds CRAZY Coming From ME, But he' Cool, UpBeat, wants u 2 have Fun, He's Funny & Not Preachy! don't care if ppl think I'm UnCool!" (editor's note: spelling kept in tact for both tweets).

This, of course, was met with a great deal of angst from those who disagree with Osteen's assessment that homosexuality is a sin. Here are just two of the initial responses to her tweet proclaiming her love for the popular pastor:

The Christian Post has more about Cher's reaction to her gay fans' frustration over her pro-Osteen sentiment:

Cher then affirmed her support for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community, tweeting in response: "But I'M NOT. Proved this MY WHOLE LIFE. We have a BOND. Christians have a hard time but we can change this."

The celebrity singer then concluded her tweets for the night by again arguing that she was not being betraying her gay fans when she exclaimed her support for Osteen, saying: "But gay pple have stayed w/me through 40 yrs when every1 else left! If i broke our bond & u hav no love 4 me anymore this is my last txt."

Here is a string of tweets showing her surprise:

Fortunately for her fans, Cher did inevitably return to Twitter and has been happily sharing her views since the incident unfolded.

(H/T: Christian Post)