Dr. Fauci praised the 'courage and dignity' of the gay community right in front of Mike Pence

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, openly praised the "incredible courage and dignity and strength and activism" of the LGBTQ community while standing right next to Vice President Mike Pence. Dr. Fauci—the internet's latest (and worthiest) new crush—recognized the gay community's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic during a White House press briefing on Tuesday standing mere feet away from the Vice President who has gained notoriety for his staunch anti-LGBTQ stance throughout his career. Talk about having no flying f***s to give.

Dr. Fauci made the statements while addressing the disproportionate rate at which African Americans have been dying from the virus outbreak in the country. The 79-year-old heartthrob drew comparisons between the current pandemic and the HIV/AIDS crisis of the '80s and '90s, pointing out how both hit minority communities. "A greater portion of my career has been defined by HIV/AIDS," he said as Pence looked on. "During that time, there was extraordinary stigma, particularly against the gay community. It was only when the world realized how the gay community responded to this outbreak with incredible courage and dignity and strength and activism... I think that really changed some of the stigma against the gay community."

"I see a similarity here because health disparities have always existed for the African American community. But here again, with the crisis, how it's shining a bright light on how unacceptable that is because yet again—when you have a situation like the Coronavirus—they are suffering disproportionately. It's not that they're getting infected more often, it's that when they do get infected, there are underlying medical conditions—the diabetes, the hypertension, the obesity, the asthma—those are the kind of things that wind them up in the ICU and ultimately give them a higher death rate," Dr. Fauci explained.

"So when all this is over, and as we've said, it will end. We will get over Coronavirus, but there will still be health disparities, which we really do need to address in the African American community," he concluded. While Dr. Fauci sent his fanbase into a frenzy with his woke AF speech (which, in an ideal world, we might've received from a competent President) Pence stood off to the side right behind him, taking in every word and probably plotting the next anti-LGBTQ legislation he could pass.

After all, the Vice President has played a substantial role in propagating the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS and the gay community. According to LGBTQ Nation, when running for Congress in 2000, Pence's campaign website's policy section said Congress should conduct an audit to see if federal money is "being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus." Moreover, the website seemed to imply that conversion therapy was a way to fight HIV, stating: "Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior."

He landed more blows at the gay community when he was in Congress, voted against all LGBTQ legislation and calling it part of a "radical social agenda." He also wrongfully claimed that LGBTQ families are not "the safest harbor for children." But then, of course, he became the Vice President, one who refused to even mention LGBTQ people during his World AIDS Day addresses and delivers keynote addresses at the anti-LGBTQ organization events. To then see Dr. Fauci criticize homophobia in front of him is definitely invoking some rather warm and happy feelings in us.