Yet another self-hating bigot exploiting the right to self-expression

What are we skinning? Gay conversion therapy advocate and River of Love congregant Matthew Grech’s latest lockdown-dancefloor thumper, ‘F’Gerusalemma’.

Why are we skinning it? Both because it gave us a long-overdue slice of cringe entertainment - revisiting admittedly evergreen early Clinton Paul classics gets a bit old after a while - and because it catapulted the infuriatingly contentious figure of Matthew Grech back on the social media merry-go-round.

So what’s up with this guy? To put it bluntly and succinctly, he is arguably one of the best walking examples of the adage that ‘youth is wasted on the young’.

And to put it in a more long-winded, spoon-fed but ultimately more comprehensive manner? Okay, since you’ve asked... As one of the most vociferous followers of Gordon-John Manché - the controversial pro-gay conversion pastor and River of Love founder - the amateur musician Matthew Grech is keen to both sing the praises of our Lord Jesus Christ and croon about the supposedly oppressive tenets of the ‘gay agenda’.

But what is it to him? Couching his opposition to the homosexual lifestyle in purely literal-Biblical terms on one hand, Matthew’s brand also strongly coasts on the fact that he claims that while he was ‘formerly’ gay, he has now been ‘cured’ and is on the path to righteousness.

Wrong and sad. Yes - yet another self-hating bigot exploiting the right to self-expression.

Democracy, right? Yes, the same democracy that allows ‘the gays’ to run rampant and exercise their fundamental human rights. But apart from the highly problematic social justice politics of this whole thing, it’s actually Matthew’s spoken-word opening that gives me most pause.

What does he say? ‘Listen up y’all, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we turn Malta into an island famous for praising Our Lord’?

Never mind Gordon-John, Matt may just be the reincarnation of Mikiel Gonzi... That’s possible. But also: what’s this obsession with turning Malta into a centre - or worse still HUB - for whatever it is that we feel the need it should be a hub for?

Like what? Whether it’s IT, igaming, selling passports... Culture.

Yeah, we know how well V18 turned out. Precisely. Are we THAT insecure that we don’t feel as though we’re getting anything worthwhile done unless we’re declared the ‘best in Europe/the world’ for it?

Wait... the video also features a certain Daichan Galea and Nevice Gatt. Nevice does get a bit of a hip-hop solo, but Daichan appears to be wound up and programmed to simply repeat Matthew’s looping praises to Jesus.

Validation is a helluva drug. For the confused and insecure cult member, it certainly would be.

Do say: “While everyone has a right to self-expression through the medium of song, Matthew Grech’s ditties come with unignorable ideological baggage... not to mention the masochistically delicious cringe-factor that is a side-effect of the song itself.”

Don’t say: “Jesus himself is to blame for this sub-Eurotrash pop atrocity, with the whole ‘free will and forgiveness’ lark. The pagan gods got one thing right: if they didn’t like your offering, they smote you where you stood.”