Sure, Warren campaigned in favor of the anti-gay Proposition 8 and has compared gay marriage to incest, child rape and polygamy, but that doesn't matter, folks: he owns Yes I Am! Apparently, a get-out-of-homophobia free pass with Melissa Etheridge can be yours for $8.99 at Best Buy, as Warren found out when he was tasked to give a keynote speech at an event Etheridge was performing at. As the lesbian rock singer recounts in the Huffington Post, this led to a most unlikely meeting:

I told my manager to reach out to Pastor Warren and say "In the spirit of unity I would like to talk to him." They gave him my phone number. On the day of the conference I received a call from Pastor Rick, and before I could say anything, he told me what a fan he was. He had most of my albums from the very first one. What? This didn't sound like a gay hater, much less a preacher. He explained in very thoughtful words that as a Christian he believed in equal rights for everyone. He believed every loving relationship should have equal protection. He struggled with proposition 8 because he didn't want to see marriage redefined as anything other than between a man and a woman. He said he regretted his choice of words in his video message to his congregation about proposition 8 when he mentioned pedophiles and those who commit incest. He said that in no way, is that how he thought about gays.

Of course, Warren has made the comparison in other venues besides his Prop 8 video message (where he actually didn't say it), and his regret might have seemed more authentic if he'd expressed it to his congregation or the nation instead of announcing it via Melissa Etheridge's iPhone, but still! His lip service about equal rights that he doesn't at all support, in addition to his Lilith Fair ticket stub, do not a gay hater make. Mickey Rourke, we've got some redemption for you: Measure of a Man is under ten bucks at Amazon today!

• The Choice Is Ours Now [HuffPo]

However, the choice has angered many gay rights advocates, who worry that the selection will legitimize Warren's fervent advocacy in favor of Proposition 8. Joy Behar, too, is upset about the pick ("It's like putting Cheney in charge of gun control!"), which surely makes Elisabeth's toes even tinglier. And, as always, Barbara Walters attempts to bring peace by reaching for a historical anecdote she only half-remembers while her cohosts silently count down their "five second rule," at the conclusion of which they are free to merrily ignore her and resume their crosstalk. Still, the clip's real horror show is Whoopi's Ed Hardy-like tee-shirt, which suggests a wrathful View stylist has found a new target. Clip above.

• The View [ABC]