IUC World Exclusive: Osmond Son Suicide Because of long Conflict between His Homosexuality and Church
Marie Osmond’s son, Michael Blosil, committed suicide last week because he was tormented by the conflict between his homosexuality and the deeply homophobic teaching of the Mormon church, IUC has learned from two sources close to Blasil. I have spent the last several days tracking down a report I first received the day after the 18-year-old Blosil jumped out the window of his L.A. apartment building on Friday night.
My first source, a lapsed Mormon, who knew Blosil and other members of the Osmond family, confirmed that Blosil had been struggling with his sexuality for years and had once voluntarily entered a Mormon “rehab” center, designed to persuade gay members of the Church to teach them to sublimate their feelings. In extreme cases, Mormons have been known to participate in electroshock aversion therapy designed to turn them straight, but Blasil never underwent this extreme technique, which was largely phased out in the late 70’s, my source tells me, after two students committed suicide after they underwent electric shock therapy experiments administered at Brigham Young University. Aversion therapy still occasionally takes place designed to turn Mormons straight, but it no longer involves electro shock and instead uses techniques pioneered by other fundamentalist religious organizations with a similar homophobic mission.
Blasil’s sister, Jessica, is also gay, though Mormons have, strangely, never been as troubled as lesbians as with gay men and many prominent Mormon women are known to have been lesbians, including Katherine Young Schweitzer, granddaughter of the prominent Mormon 19th century leader, Brigham Young. “His mother, Marie, is not exactly homophobic in the usual sense,” says my source. “She has many gay friends in show business and has always been very tolerant of gays and lesbians, but she is a very devout Mormon and she has been somewhat ambiguous over the years about the issue.” It is, apparently, the homosexuality of two of her children that has softened Marie’s stance in recent years and caused her to reject Mormon doctrine on homosexuality to the point where she now believes in gay and lesbian civil unions if not same-sex marriage. According to one Mormon pamphlet, “Homosexuality Is Sin: Next to the crime of murder comes the sin of sexual impurity.” In February 2001, a gay Mormon missionary named Stuart Matis, who had never acted on his feelings, killed himself with a shotgun, leaving behind a suicide note blaming the suicide on a conflict between his religion and his homosexuality. In his suicide note, Matis revealed that he knew he was gay since the age of 7. Matis wrote in his suicide note, which was read at the memorial, that he first realized he was gay at age 7. He spent most of his life praying and trying to change, but eventually gave up hope, “I am now free,” he wrote. “I am no longer in pain and I no longer hate myself. As it turns out, God never intended for me to be straight. Perhaps my death might become the catalyst for some good.”
The parallels between Matis’s death and that of Michael Blosil are striking, though Blosil’s suicide note talked only of his depression, making no mention of his sexuality, perhaps knowing what such a revelation would to the reputation of his famous family. However, despite their deep association with Mormonism, the Osmond family are known to be more tolerant than most of their Church brethren. “The Osmonds have always been conflicted about this aspect of their religion,” my source adds. “Some of them are openly critical, Marie included.” Another Mormon who knows the family well told me it was well known for years that Blosil was gay. “I think they hoped that he wouldn’t be too public about it but as far as I know, they didn’t shun him for it the way other LDS (Latter Day saints) families often do,” he says. “But Michael himself was raised as a Mormon and I think he may have bought into the teachings. He couldn’t figure out how to deal with his being gay and Mormon. That’s why he went for Church therapy. It wasn’t a secret. Everybody knew he was homosexual. He tried dating girls, he tried to be straight. It wasn’t for him.” In November, 2007, Marie Osmond admitted to Larry King that her son, then 16, had entered rehab. At the time, it was implied that he was depressed over Marie’s divorce to his father, Brian Blosil. Most people assumed that his stint in rehab involved drug or alcohol abuse. In fact, however, it appears that the facility Michael entered was a Mormon-sponsored clinic designed to convince gay Mormons to bury their feelings and do their Christian duty. Most of the participants are enrolled after coercion from their families under the threat of excommunication and shunning, but Blosil was alleged to have entered the clinic voluntarily after being urged to do so by a number of friends and family members.
My sources couldn’t tell me if Marie approved of or encouraged her son to enrol. According to suicide experts, gay teenagers are four times more likely to commit suicide than their straight counterparts. But in the Mormon church, this figure is said to be considerably higher. Blosil, who was studying at the Fashion Institute of Design and manufacturing in Los Angeles, had long been passionate about fashion and apparently believed that in L.A., he could escape from the deeply repressive moral climate of Utah where he grew up. The demons of Joseph Smith, however, have a long reach. Developing!
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THIS is ur major announCEmnt…….sheesh……..
n the guy is dead……let him RIP.
ReplyIAN, is this the story? or a filler? not trying to be difficult, but there a reason I am asking..if I don’t bring it up someone else will.
Replythis is not the major announcement, which I’ll make either today or Monday.
Reply@HisHighness:
lol hope all is well.
Replyokay thanks , IAN! , you knew where I was going right
@lol!!!:
RIP? What about all the tens of thousands of gay Mormons who are struggling with similar issues and thinking of doing sometjing similarly drastic because of the bigoted doctrine they were raised with. Ian is doing the world a service by reporting on the consequences of religious homophobia and, better still, doing it respectfully without casting blame on Marie, the poor mother who must be suffering.
Bravo Ian. There needs to be more similar coverage of how the Church of Scientology and its ignorant doctrine about autism killed John Travolta’s son, Jett. If the mainstream press hadn’t been afraid to incur Scientology’s wrath, Jett would have been saved when Travolta’s neighbors started to blow the whistle on Jett’s treatment years ago.
ReplyA very sad story! A young man who should be just starting to experience the joy of youth!
Stories about the conflict of rigid theology vs the human condition are age-old!
ReplyThere are many stories of Mormon males and their struggles.
I believe the church may be more tolerant of lesbians because no sperm is involved in their activity.
In the bible, Leviticus is cited as the source of their intolerance of homosexual activity.
In the Catholic religion, the sinner may go to the sacrament of reconciliation no matter how often he/she practices a forbidden act.
But even the priests have a great need to be touched by another human. To experience the warmth of a partner. It’s a saintly priest who overcomes such a conflict.
@lol!!!:
RIP and bless his family who are suffering I am sure, but IAN did a very nice job of writing this up. I thought it was rather tasteless the way the NE has it plastered on their cover this past week, I am sure the grieving family and this young man would feel great peace from that .
At least IAN did show he had tolerance in his life from his parents and there are many Mormons that are gay and out, I know many myself. It is sad that he did not have more support IF this is what led to his death, sometimes it is just depression and life in general. He had a lot to live for. So many young people just have not mastered the concept that “these things will pass” ..they do. Pain is fleeting. jmho
Nothing else to say on this, God Bless Marie and her family.
ReplyVery sad.
ReplyDon’t know anything about hte Osmond family, I guess I’m too young but this is a sad story. It’s nice to hear that his family was supportive and hope it sets an example for others. RIP
ReplyWhen are we as a society going to accept and not judge our fellow humans based on sexual orientation? I believe in my faith very much, but have never, not ever been told that being gay is “wrong” or “unacceptable” or that you have to “change” who you are fundamentally unlike Mormons or Scientologists (don’t get me started!) This just saddens me to think of young men and women who are put into this situation. Life is hard enough without having to feel guilty or shameful about who you are as a person. This is just wrong on sooo many levels! It should be these so called “religions” who are ostracized, and made to feel shameful…Autism DOES exist! We do not choose our secual orientation! We are who we are. Although this does not make anything better or right, let’s just hope this person’s life affects some change, whether it be more acceptance, or patience, or something else. I hope Marie finds comfort from the non judgemental public and true acceptance from faith…
ReplyMy prayers go out to Marie, her ex-husband, and all the family members. A young life is lost to them forever, for whatever reason that seemed logical at the time. I pray they can heal from their paif of his loss, and know that judgement is His, not ours to make.
Replyi don’t know these people. but it’s a shame that today someone thinks he has to kill himself just because he’s gay.
ReplyMy mother, brother and I left our Episcopalian church not long after my parents divorced – we didn’t see why we should put up with the gossipy hens who were judging her every move, and staring at me and my brother like they were wondering if we would grow horns (this was back before divorce became the national pastime). Tragic stories like the above suicide now make me count being driven from the church as a blessing. Sorry, God, that I don’t know your Bible well, but my observation is that far too many who claim to understand it turn out to be douchebags.
ReplyThis is sooooooooooooooooo lame, Ian. Give it up.
Reply@HisHighness:
ReplyOK.. I take that back.
Thanks, Ian. Much discussion is needed; so that young people don’t end their God-given lives because they don’t feel life is worth living!
AND, Life is very much worth living, Ian.
Those who remember an older post I had in the past year concerning a young woman who didn’t succeed at committing suicide described her other-worldly experience:
She said, on national tv, that she went to “the other side” and watched those who did indeed commit suicide. She described how these spirits were completely lost in themselves. They were walking in endless circles; oblivious to each other; mumbling to themselves.
She stated that she was in a sort of spotlight, when all of a sudden, a deep voice called out: “IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT FOR ETERNITY?”
She returned, obviously, and now is on a mission of suicide prevention.
I heard it, but am still in wonderment.
But one thing I don’t wonder about, and that is, Life is worth living; Life is indeed worth loving!
Reply@HisHighness:
ReplyYou’re not making us wait all the way to Monday are you?
Do you want to know were Ian has his “exclusive” info from? Look no further than Perez Hilton!
Roseanne Blogs About Marie Osmond’s Son, Claims He Committed Suicide Because He Was Gay
Filed under: When Celebrities Blog > Roseanne
ap080608024081roseanne.jpg
The always outspoken Roseanne took to her blog to express her feelings about the tragic suicide of Marie Osmond’s son, Michael Bryan.
She writes:
“marie osmonds poor gay son killed himself
because he had been told how wrong and how sick he was every day of his life by his church and the people in it. Calling that “depression” is a lie!
Yet the Osmonds still talk lovingly about their church, saying nothing about its extremely anti-gay Crusade. Marie also has a gay daughter! Hey, I want her and all the gay kids in the world to know that they are just fine being gay and that they deserve love and respect instead of insults and rebuke! I have gay people in my family and my circle of friends and I am kicking bigot ass and taking names!
That is how its done in my religion—(I have my own religion that I made up for myself and it is a great religion that actually works and respects facts and not fantasy!)
Gerald Lund one of the ex church apostles has three gay kids himself.
Yet, even though the people they say they love the most in all of their public displays and speeches (THEIR KIDS AND FAMILY!!) are gay,– their own children,for crying out loud- these people cannot find the christian decency and compassion within themselves to stop their hypocritical gay bashing!!
How sickening. I know so many mormon kids who were gay and committed suicide, and I just cannot and will not stay quiet in order to not offend bigots anymore. It is all so terribly depressing.
Marie please don’t talk about how your faith in your church has helped you get through this one! Please get some integrity and tell that church of yours that you will leave it and stop giving it ten percent of your money if they don’t stop trying to destroy your kids’ and all gay people’s civil rights and dreams and hopes!!
G-d is trying to use you for something good and this is your opportunity! Your church is wrong and on the wrong wrong wrong side of things! Get as vocal about that as you are about your diet. G-d bless you too, Marie.
Take a hard look at the facts now as you use this very sad time for introspection, healing growth and prayer, and become a strong symbol for loving mothers who make no apologies for hatred against their own kids!”
“yes i know that people get mad at me for the things i say
here that they think are insensitive and unkind. I say what I think needs to be said, though, and I always will, even if nobody listens. I really could care less. My opinion is my own and is well thought out. I decided a long time ago that I would not cower and stay silent when I feel things are wrong, whether it wins me fans money or praise or the opposite of those things. I am not a wimp, I am no democrat!”
Thoughts??
[Image via AP Images.]
Tags: depression, family, marie osmond, religion, sad, suicide
ReplyNotice that Rosanne posted this on March 4th! Indeed this is a filler and a copy and paste job too!
http://www.roseanneworld.com/blog/2010/03/marie_osmonds_poor_gay_son_kil.php
March 4, 2010
marie osmonds poor gay son killed himself
because he had been told how wrong and how sick he was every day of his life by his church and the people in it. Calling that “depression” is a lie!
Yet the Osmonds still talk lovingly about their church, saying nothing about its extremely anti-gay Crusade. Marie also has a gay daughter! Hey, I want her and all the gay kids in the world to know that they are just fine being gay and that they deserve love and respect instead of insults and rebuke! I have gay people in my family and my circle of friends and I am kicking bigot ass and taking names!
That is how its done in my religion—(I have my own religion that I made up for myself and it is a great religion that actually works and respects facts and not fantasy!)
Gerald Lund one of the ex church apostles has three gay kids himself.
Yet, even though the people they say they love the most in all of their public displays and speeches (THEIR KIDS AND FAMILY!!) are gay,– their own children,for crying out loud- these people cannot find the christian decency and compassion within themselves to stop their hypocritical gay bashing!!
How sickening. I know so many mormon kids who were gay and committed suicide, and I just cannot and will not stay quiet in order to not offend bigots anymore. It is all so terribly depressing.
Marie please don’t talk about how your faith in your church has helped you get through this one! Please get some integrity and tell that church of yours that you will leave it and stop giving it ten percent of your money if they don’t stop trying to destroy your kids’ and all gay people’s civil rights and dreams and hopes!!
G-d is trying to use you for something good and this is your opportunity! Your church is wrong and on the wrong wrong wrong side of things! Get as vocal about that as you are about your diet. G-d bless you too, Marie.
Take a hard look at the facts now as you use this very sad time for introspection, healing growth and prayer, and become a strong symbol for loving mothers who make no apologies for hatred against their own kids!
Posted at 3:35 PM – Permalink
Replyuh total generalizations!!! Just lost any belief in anything else you write if this is how you generalize every story. Mormons do NOT hate gays. They are repeatedly told over and over to love every one with NO exceptions. Gays can have full membership in the church. Get your facts straight. They aren’t hard to find. http://www.mormon.org
ReplyIf it wasn’t the Mormons taking some hit in the press it’d be the Catholics, Muslims, Jews etc. Get off the back of organized religions!!!
@bingsb:
ReplyHey, I am a member of organized religion, but my faith does not ostracize OR judge. How can you say we are “wrong” when the Mormon faith practices electro shock therapy and sends you away to “cure” you of your homosexual belief?? Also, if you are so proud of the Mormon faith, what roles do gay members have within the religion? Point them out to me please or else give me a BREAK! I will continue to not judge and be accepting, which is what we are all here for. If you are so defensive, then you best look within yourself as to WHY you are reacting that way…
That’s rich. Of coarse there is no electroshock therapy. I am defensive because I know first hand. Wouldn’t you be defensive of lies spread about something you cared about?
Reply@lory:
Nope I want to know whether you understand that the UNHCR is a part of the UN now, not two distinct organisations? Do you get it now Mia? You are not usually this backward in coming forwards…. how strange!
ReplyI hope that the major announcement won’t be Angie with Mick Jagger or past lovers, these stories have already known!!!. I really hope something new!
ReplyOdais, lol how bout that ? IAN told us about Mick a year ago. According to L&S Mick is suppse to be the most shocking thing in Jenny Pauls book. say what? That can’t possibly be true, can it. Six years and that is it?
Okay so who believes that Brad Pitt wants 13 kids? Honestly, he can barely take care of himself. That may have been his little soccer club dream back in 2004-2005, but that appears to have changed at least a good 2 years ago.
Who believes he is in control?
Anyone? Heck he is not even in control of where he lives.
Replyhttp://www.dailystar.co.uk/goss/view/125088/Amy-Winehouse-turns-to-freaky-cult-for-Blake/
I call bs on this story about Amy Winehouse going Scilon. She’s devoutly Jewish….
Reply@mooki:
“Blake has ordered books and CDs about the nutty religion, also followed by Hollywood dullards Tom Cruise, 47, and Katie Holmes, 31.” – lol @ ‘dullards’ comment.
Reply@I’m on the bidet:
turns out that was a regurgitation of a cult PR piece… from 2008.
Amy’s not that dumb. I have not seen one photo of the couple. although the UK tabs are claiming this old photo of Amy and Blake is new:
Replyhttp://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/2873798/Amy-and-Blakes-smacker.html
@mooki:
ReplyUgh, as gross as they are individually, together they are synergistically more repellent; makes me want to throw a bucketful of penicillin on them both (which would probably make them dissolve completely). Are the scientoloons so desperate for celebrity validation that they even want Winehouse?
Are you a professional journalist? You write very well.
ReplyI do know this was a very interesting post thanks for writing it!
Reply@I’m on the bidet:
the fact that a) they’re not even together and b) neither of them aren’t even in $cientology makes the article even more funny
speaking of xenu:
http://x17video.com/celebrity_video/katie_holmes/katie_holmes_visits_the_church.php
wonder what’s going on here? she’s not pregnant, we’ve come to that conclusion
ReplyDrudge report just revealed that the NYT are doing a front-page story on the Co$ and their abuses. wow, just wow. i don’t think they’re gonna stop this one….
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Reply@mooki:
ReplyI thought I read somewhere that the thinking was Holmes had to go through some scientology shtick before getting pregnant, a ’spiritual cleanse’ of some sort.
@mooki:
I’ll be looking for that issue. One that is a keeper!
Katie Holmes, the sad hostage of little Tommy, looks like a much older woman!
If she were a non-celeb being held hostage by a celeb, there would be an intervention. Star power, or the cult of scientology is too much in evidence in her case.
I have seen two different photos of TC on different occasions and yrs. These large, colored photos showed him with unmistakably dead eyes. Otherworldly look, imo!
Reply@I’m on the bidet:
if Katie is pregnant, the kid ain’t Cruise’s (we all know he can’t make kids and really has no desire to believe it or not *cough* gay *cough*)
ReplyDoesn’t the National Enquirer have this story in already? And it was out last Thursday. The cover sensationally claims the reason why Marie’s GAY son leapt to his death. It suggests a conflict of Mormon beliefs and Michael Bryan’s alleged homosexuality. So not sure if this is exactly an IUC World Bombshell Shock Horror Exclusive. More an addition to what’s already been reported.
ReplyThis isn’t the “Major Announcement” Ian referred to earlier. He had told us it would either come out Friday, or if not Friday, then on Monday. Be sure to check back then.@babyjane:
Reply@Pattyanne:
ReplyWe await the “Major Announcement” with bated breath. However, “World Exclusive” as referenced in the sad Marie Osmond’s son suicide piece is,perhaps, not a world exclusive at all, the National Enquirer had those details last Thursday and Roseanne blogged, putting forward a similar scenario that Michael Bryan’s death resulted from personal and Mormon church conflicts over his alleged sexuality, days before IUC’s “World Exclusive”. That was my point. Not about whether or not this was the “Big, Earth Shaking Announcement”
what happened @ Oscars and the afterparties last night, according to a trustworthy source:
Reply-Brittany Murphy’s fiance was schmoozing w/ the bigwigs, which left many (including her mother) uncomfortable
-Zac Efron didn’t bring Vanessa Hudgens to the ceremonies, but met her @ the Vanity Fair afterparty. She did drink everyone under the table
-Elton John’s afterparty/AIDS fundraiser was the hot place to be. Grace Jones and the cast of Glee performed, as well as Elton. Victoria Beckham wolfed down her dinner (!), Nicole Richie and Kelly Osbourne were gabbin’ it up like it was 2003 again, Perez Hilton and Katy Perry were dissing Demi Moore’s bad plastic surgery (allegedly she was the reason they opted not to attended Madonna and Guy Oseary’s bash at Madge’s mansion, due to bad beef between Perez and Demi), Miley Cyrus came with her boyfriend of the moment
-Mo’Nique and ‘Precious’ director Lee Daniels told various reporters that they’re shopping around a biopic of (who else) Hattie McDaniel
-the John Hughes tribute was more or less awkward. let’s just say it took some coaxing to get all the Brat Packers on the stage together
-Macaulay Culkin took out the tissue when MJ was shown in the ‘in memoriam’ montage
-the omission of Farrah Fawcett from the “in memoriam” montage was possibly the biggest absence of the night
-if you thought Kristen Stewart was out of it, she was (*cough* pothead *cough*).
-John Travolta came and left without “wife” Kelly Preston
-is Meryl Streep the new Jack Nicholson (just showing up to awards shows just to get ribbed by the hosts?)
-nobody was talking about Brangelina
-Martin Short dropped out of the opening musical number due to a “personal emergency”.
-Oprah was bragging about how she was going to wear the dress on her post-Oscars special and that she completely sold out the Kodak Theater for it (*rolls eyes*)
@ babyjane – not too big a fan of Ian are you huh? Lol
Reply@keane cyber queen supreme:
ReplyWhen you’re recycling Enquirer stories and what Roseanne blogged about days before, then calling them your own “world exclusives”, maybe it’s time to change those covers Ian’s under and play catch up!
Well, gotta love the Mormons for their free genealogical website they offer to us all. Such a great research tool if you’re into that sort of thing.
Replythis post will possible be deleted! . it’s obvious that pathetic liberal tree huggers are telling us down the river. Simple answer: stand up and be counted. Is it a tune too familiar from our tv?!!!
Replyhi anyone, I was just checkin’ out this site and I really love the foundation of the article, and have nothing to do, so if anyone would like to to have an compelling chat about it, please contact me on skype, my name is louie posali
Reply