Teen’s Mom Denies Jeremy Jordan’s Cousin Is in ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy

But Teen’s Tweets About Attending Prom With Her Girlfriend Suggest Otherwise

The mother of “Supergirl” actor Jeremy Jordan’s cousin denies that the 17-year-old is undergoing “ex-gay” therapy, as alleged in a lawsuit as well as an online fundraising campaign that has made national headlines in recent days. 

As NCRM reported exclusively Wednesday, Sarah’s parents recently sent her to Heartlight Ministries Boarding School in East Texas.

Sarah’s aunt has filed a lawsuit against Sarah’s parents alleging the teen is there to undergo so-called reparative therapy and seeking to have her released from the facility, but her mother told The Austin Statesman that isn’t the case. 

“My daughter would be heartbroken that she is being misrepresented this way,” Sarah’s mother said. “It has nothing to do with her sexuality.”

In a court filing responding to the lawsuit, Sarah’s parents said it is “absolutely repugnant” to suggest that Heartlight Ministries is anti-gay simply because the organization is Christian. They also claimed she was sent to Heartlight for “depression, self-harm, drug use, and behavioral issues,” the Statesman reports. 

However, Sarah’s aunt alleged in the lawsuit that her father and family pastor admitted she was sent to Heartlight to change her sexual orientation. Sarah’s aunt acknowledged that the teen struggles with depression, but argued that her parents’ rejection of her sexual orientation has only made the problem worse.

The Statesman adds, “Sarah posted on Twitter that her parents had forbidden her from going because they opposed her attending with her girlfriend. She urged her friends to ‘be ready at all times during prom to form a human wall.’ A week later, she went to Heartlight.”

Sarah wrote a suicide note to her girlfriend last year, in which she said she felt like a disappointment to her parents, and “when they find out how much I love you it will get worse,” the Statesman reports. 

Heartlight Ministries doesn’t openly advertise so-called reparative therapy, and isn’t well-known to advocates who oppose the dangerous and discredited practice. But as we mentioned Wednesday, founder Mark Gregston has made clear in online posts that he believes being gay is a choice and that homosexuality goes against the Bible. On its website Heartlight states, “We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God,” and refers to homosexuality as “sin.”

In his book, What’s Happening to My Teen?, Gregston writes about “a child who has chosen a gay lifestyle,” and another who “defaulted to the gay lifestyle.”

Texas isn’t among the small handful of states that ban reparative therapy for minors, so Sarah’s aunt faces an uphill legal battle to get her released from the facility. However, a ruling from a state district court in favor of Sarah’s aunt would be a major victory in the battle against reparative therapy in Texas. 

Either way, the lawsuit could prompt state legislators to take up the contentious issue next year. The Texas GOP has endorsed reparative therapy in its party platform. Last year, Democratic state Rep. Celia Israel, an out lesbian, introduced a bill to ban the practice for minors, but it didn’t receive a hearing.