My Husband's Not Gay': New TLC Show About Married Mormon Husbands Who Are Attracted to Men Sparks Major Protest

TLC is sparking major controversy with a soon-to-air special titled "My Husband's Not Gay," a show centered on men with same-sex attraction who are married to women, as tens of thousands of protesters are asking the network to cancel the program over its supposedly "false and dangerous" message.

The show, which airs January 11 at 10 C.T., will predominately feature three married couples, focusing on what the networked dubbed their "unconventional Mormon marriages."

Those married men — Jeff, Pret and Curtis — are joined by a single individual named Tom; all four men live in Salt Lake City, Utah, are friends and claim that they have same-sex attraction, though they do not consider themselves gay, according to a TLC press release issued last month.

"These couples share the challenges they face every day and explain why they have decided to live the way they do, and explore how these wives endure this unusual facet in their relationships as they strive to make their marriages work," the statement read.

TLC offered brief profiles on the the subjects of "My Husband's Not Gay," noting that they all share a strong faith, which they believe precludes living a gay lifestyle.

There's Jeff and his wife Tanya, who have been married for 10 years and have one 6-year-old-son. Then there's Pret and Megan who met nearly two decades ago in Sunday school; they have a 3-year-old daughter and an infant baby girl.

Curtis and Tera were high school sweethearts and have four children, with Tom, a 35-year-old single man, working as a coach and teacher in Salt Lake City.

A Change.org petition that accuses the show of promoting "the false and dangerous idea that gay people can and should choose to be straight in order to be part of their faith communities" has garnered nearly 67,000 signatures in recent days, with its publisher standing firm against the TLC special.

"As a gay Christian man who’s seen first hand how this message can harm people, I am calling on TLC to cancel 'My Husband’s Not Gay' and to stop telling America that LGBT people should lie to themselves and to their faith communities about who they are and who they love," petition creator Josh Sanders wrote in the description. 

Debate has been raging on Twitter as well, where various voices are speaking out about the show.

The Young Turks' Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian also reacted to the show Sunday, sharing their somewhat conflicted views on the matter.

"I'm amused by this and I find it somewhat worthwhile … but at least it exposes, this is a reality," Uygyr said. "It exposes people to this reality and it makes them think, 'Hmm, does this really make sense?"

Kasparian outlined her opposition to gay men ending up in traditional marriages, but said that it becomes a bit more of a grey area when people are truly bisexual.

Watch their commentary below:

But Tim Rymel, an author and LBGT advocate who was once part of the so-called ex-gay movement, has a very different view on "My Husband's Not Gay," claiming that he actually supports the show.

"TLC’s show does two things: It stretches the boundaries of sexual orientation labels and it brings attention to the plight of people trying to reconcile their lives with their religion," he recently wrote.

Rymel continued, "There is not an ounce of credibility to people attempting to change their sexual orientation from gay to straight. However, research has shown that people’s sexual fluidity can expand, meaning we are not stuck in the 0-6 model of the Kinsey Scale. It’s not as cut and dry as we once thought it was and it is possible for a man with gay attractions to be married to, and satisfied with, a heterosexual marriage."

He said he believes that the program will offer an entirely different perspective that families experiencing similar dynamics will be able to relate to.