The new movieThe Eyes of Tammy Fayerecreates the iconic moment, which came as a shock to many people in the Christian community at the time.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.
RELATED VIDEO: See Jessica Chastain’s Transformation forTammy FayeMovie: ‘The Best Part I’ve Ever Played’
Pieters feels that the interview did ultimately make an impact on PTL viewers and Tammy Faye herself — and “it keeps reverberating through my life,” he says.
“I’ve had people come up to me in restaurants and tell me, ‘That interview saved my life. My mother always had PTL on and I was 12 and I heard your interview, and I suddenly knew that I could be gay and Christian and I didn’t have to kill myself,'” Pieters recalls.
As for Tammy Faye, the televangelist started going to AIDS hospices and hospitals, attending LGBTQ-friendly churches and attending gay pride parades with her two kids Jay and Tammy Sue. “She made sure that they were exposed to people that they otherwise would not be exposed to,” Pieters says, “and taught them to be loving and compassionate and supportive.”
Courtesy Searchlight Pictures
“She said that it was the LGBTQ community that embraced her and helped her through that time,” Pieters, who’s since recovered from AIDS, says. “And so it all began with my interview with her.”
Tammy Faye lost her battle with cancer in 2007, but Pieters formed a friendship with her son and Revolution Church founder Jay, 45. (Tammy Sue, 51, became a Christian singer like her mom.) They connected over Instagram in 2019 and now talk on a weekly basis.
“Tammy’s legacy is most seen in her children,” Pieters says. “I think their mother would be very proud of both of them.”
The Eyes of Tammy Fayeis out now.
source: people.com
