Music unites people and that's a lesson that one homophobic preacher had to learn when he was drowned out by street performers in New York City on Friday (October 25).
In a video making the rounds by filmmaker Nicolas Heller, a sidewalk preacher is seen yelling about how LGBTQ+ people will burn in hell, while standing in the middle of Union Square. However, his words are quickly drowned out by the saxophone performers Augie Bello and Julian Roel, who begin spreading their talents as loud as possible as a means to eliminate the hate spewing from the unidentified preacher. "This strapping young gent (who clearly gets laid regularly) is preaching that the LGBTQ community is going to burn in hell so street musicians @augie_bello and @roel.julian offer some foreground instrumentals," Heller captioned the clip.
Speaking with Queerty, Heller, who is known for making short films and mini-documentaries, admitted that he only captured the moment while running late to a meeting. However, Bello, had more insight to the incident, admitting that the footage only showed a bit of what went down. "Me and my friend Julian had just had lunch and were heading back to school (The New School For Jazz) when we heard this guy saying some really hateful homophobic things," he said told the outlet. "What the video doesn’t show is what he said before we took out our saxophones. He was saying all gays will burn in hell and that they will be in a ring of fire. So I looked at Julian and he looked at me and we instantly had the exact same thought, to drown out the hate with our saxophones. Julian and I were shocked that the video went viral, but it also makes us extremely happy to see how much support there is for the LGBTQ+ community."
Photo: Getty Images