Kevin Sorbo doesn’t deserve the backlash

I am extremely tired of reading and hearing the hateful, vulgar, misinformed rants by individuals and media regarding Kevin Sorbo’s recent comment about the Ferguson riots on his Kevin Sorbo Official Facebook Page. People who don’t even know who he is use their bandwagon mentality to denigrate him for the sole purpose of receiving their five minutes of fame.

Well, haters, your time is over and your idiocy speaks more volumes about you than about him.

Let me tell you about the Kevin Sorbo I know so that you can put this in perspective. If you need to read more about him personally and professionally, I refer you to his IMDb page, his Official Website, the Official European Kevin Sorbo Fan Club website, Sorbos-Tribute, Sorbo Dreams and the plethora of websites and blogs dedicated to him. Additionally, his book, True Strength: My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal–and How Nearly Dying Saved My Life, provides information about his past and present, as well as inspires readers to overcome all obstacles.

This is the Kevin Sorbo I know – a man who inspires me.

Kevin unselfishly helps others in various ways. He supports numerous charities like the Starkey Hearing Foundation, The Rose Brucia Educational Foundation, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Stand Up to Cancer, Celebrity Fight Night Foundation and many more. He is the spokesperson for the Afterschool Alliance and spokesperson and former Board Chairperson for A World Fit For Kids!

Kevin remains very active in movies and television and oversees his own production company. He constantly travels the world, seeking new adventures while working on multitudinous projects.

Kevin enjoys appearing at Sci-Fi, Comic Con and other conventions because he loves interacting with his throngs of fans. And no matter what he is doing or where he is, he always takes time to say, “Hello,” or converse, shake hands, sign autographs, and have fans snap photos with him. He is never too busy for his fans!

Kevin has a wife and three young children. He’s a dedicated husband and father, and he and his wife, Sam, home school. He is rarely away from home for more than two weeks at a time despite his hectic schedule. His family is more important to him than anything.

This is the Kevin Sorbo I know – a man who lives life to the fullest.

I started this blog for fans to write about how Kevin has impacted their lives, share their artwork, meet each other no matter the different languages and cultures, and express their love for him. Stories ranged from something as simple as how a now-married couple met at a convention where Kevin was appearing to an uplifting tale of a woman who used an autographed picture he sent to her to overcome an illness and walk again.

I have my own stories, too, ones that concern Kevin professionally and personally.

He was my first “big celebrity” face-to-face interview in 1997 during his press junket for “Kull, the Conqueror,” when I was a young, inexperienced newspaper reporter. He was imposing and handsome, yet, kind and genuine.

We spoke years later when I covered his first Kevin Sorbo Celebrity Golf Tournament for a different publication. I wove that interview into many other articles elsewhere, and whenever I needed an updated quote, he obliged if time permitted.

When I experienced some personal hardships, he expressed hope, encouragement and faith that life would get better, and it did. I shared with him some not-so-great news and he prayed with me, which really helped me to overcome my fear.

This is the Kevin Sorbo I know – a man whose compassion has no boundaries.

Kevin Sorbo does NOT deserve the nasty, cruel, ridiculously inane backlash for a comment borne out of frustration. He loves his country and is a truly patriotic American. And as same, I understand his frustration at witnessing what can be minimally described as lawlessness… and I don’t mean the citizens of Ferguson reacting to the death of a young man… I mean the looters, thieves, antagonists, and even murderers who took advantage of a volatile situation for their own selfish gains.

So, Kevin spoke about it. So what? Didn’t we all? And if you believe that Kevin’s comment was racist and that he is a bigot then either you only saw what you wanted to believe or you jumped on the bandwagon with the other five-minutes-of-famers and used your pathetically minimal knowledge of the English language to insult him. Your parents must be very proud.

Kevin later deleted his post and issued a sincere apology, but, many of you still want your five minutes; I feel sorry for you. The internet is a vast, amazing knowledge source, yet many people choose to expand their mastery of disgusting words instead of their minds, and they have unfairly unleashed their dismal hobby on Kevin.

Kevin is decent, kind, compassionate, generous, intelligent, funny and interesting. He has flaws like the rest of us, but, that doesn’t make him a target – it makes him human.

That is the Kevin Sorbo I know.

Haters will hate; judgmental people will judge; deadbeats will sit in their glass houses and cast stones. The rest of us will continue with our lives and love the Kevin we know.

(Image courtesy of Kevin Sorbo)