UFC Fighter to Homeschool Son to Prevent Him Becoming Gay

UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell has announced his intention to homeschool his toddler son because he doesn’t “want him to be gay”. 

The 29-year-old fighter made homophobic remarks in an Instagram video while shirtless, holding his son who was born on March 29. 

Nicknamed “Thug Nasty”, Mitchell spoke to his nearly 500,000 followers and urged parents not to vaccinate their children and criticised public schools for not incorporating Bible reading into their curriculum. 

The mixed martial arts fighter has previously expressed controversial views. In 2022, Mitchell challenged podcaster and UFC commentator Joe Rogan to a debate on the shape of the Earth, asserting his belief in a flat Earth and denying the existence of gravity. 

In the Instagram video, Mitchell informed his followers of his plan to homeschool his son due to his views on homosexuality and his belief that vaccines cause autism.

Bryce Mitchell’s Controversial Homeschooling Plan and Anti-Vaccine Advocacy

“I want to encourage y’all not to vaccinate your children because I think it’s bad for their health. It could potentially kill them. Give them some type of, um, make them autistic. Seriously, these vaccines are poisonous. Don’t vaccinate your kids”, he began the video.

Pointing to his son, Mitchell explained his decision to keep him out of public school, claiming it would prevent him from becoming gay, a communist, or a satanist, which he attributed to a lack of religious teachings in education.

“Out of the public schools, they took the most valuable book of all time. The number one selling book of all time. The oldest, most accurate historical document there ever was—the Bible,” Mitchell said.

“They took it out of the schools and replaced it with Edgar Allen Poe who shacked up with his cousin. My son ain’t gonna be reading no Edgar Allen Poe. He’s going to be reading the Bible. That’s just how it is and I’m just telling you, if you don’t teach your kid these things, it’s gonna be fed right to the devil”, he added.

Mitchell captioned his video : 

“yall kno ill get censored for this one. but i dont care. i love kids and i love the truth…this country is so evil only God can save us. i was told dhs was gunna come get my kid cause i didnt let the doc stick him with a needle. dont let these threats of violence scare u. be prepared and b happy to die for ur kids. thats wat its gunna take to get our freedom back. remember i just got love in my heart so if sumone twists my words and makes me look like the bad guy, u will kno the real enemy” [sic]. 

Kevin McHale Speaks Out Against Bryce Mitchell’s Homophobic Comments

Actor Kevin McHale responded to Mitchell’s rant, posting to X, formerly known as Twitter, asserting his belief that a person’s sexual orientation isn’t necessarily shaped by the sexual orientation of those around them.

“Listen, idk how many times I gotta say it but: I was raised by straight people, taught by straight people, almost entirely surrounded by straight people when I was a kid and despite all of that I turned out to be a big ole f*ggot, so good luck to you and yours!” McHale posted. 

The former Glee actor added, ‘I was also homeschooled for 2 years!’ alongside a rainbow emoji.

McHale’s followers on X echoed his viewpoint. 

One person wrote, “And gay people raise straights all the time too so”, while another pointed out “And the reverse is also true e.g. @ZachWahls who was raised by two lesbians and he’s straight”. 

Another person expressed concern at the lack of support Mitchell’s child would have if he identified as LGBTQI+, writing, “All this does is ensure that if his kid comes out as gay he will have zero support structure to start. Really tragic”.