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Ricky Martin and GLAAD critical of Univision report

Spanish-language story on ex-gay conversion therapy under fire
Ricky Martin

A story on so-called 'ex-gay conversion' therapy that aired on Univision earlier this week is being criticized by singer Ricky Martin and by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation for being unbalanced.

GLAAD and Martin say the story that aired on the popular nighttime newsmagazine show Aqui y Ahora celebrated the story of a man who says he has become straight while failing to report on victims of these conversion attempts.

After the Jan. 31 segment aired, the show's host asked viewers to weigh in on whether they thought people are born gay or become gay. Martin quickly took to Twitter to post his opinion that we are born gay.

He also tweeted, in Spanish: 'El heterosexual nace o se hace?' which is essentially asking if being straight is a choice.

GLAAD notes that Aqui y Ahora has, in the past, done fair and accurate reporting on LGBT issues and won several GLAAD Media Awards in the past. But the group feels it has failed with the reparative therapy story, needs to apologize, and commit to doing a segment informing viewers of the possible harm.

Univision said it has taken note of GLAAD's concerns and plans to respond to them next week.

Aqui y Ahora had an average of 3.2 million viewers in 2010 with its popularity among Spanish-language viewers similar to that of ABC's Nightline which drew an average of 3.7 million viewers in that same year.

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