Pat Robertson, a televangelist who many believe has faded far past the point of relevance, has once again stunned the nation with his backwards views of decent American life, surprising few. On Wednesday’s episode of “the 700 Club,” Robertson essentially blamed a woman trying to forgive her cheating husband for the affair, and telling her that men cheat and it is a woman’s responsibility to create an “enticing” home so that her mate does not go astray.
The Huffintgon Post reports that Robertson’s comments were in response to the following letter. “I’ve been trying to forgive my husband for cheating on me. We have gone to counseling, but I just can’t seem to forgive, nor can I trust. How do you let go of the anger? How do you trust again?”
Rather than providing the letter-writer with wisdom from the Bible about forgiveness, or advising her to talk with the husband, Robertson dished out gender-politically regressive tips on how she should make both herself and her home a better place for her husband, so that he would not look elsewhere for comfort, essentially blaming the woman for her husband’s misdeeds.
Telling the writer that that married men have a tendency to wander, and that it is the wife’s job to make sure the home is enticing, Robertson said, “Does he provide a home for you to live in? Doe he provide food for you to eat? Does he provide clothes for you to wear? Is he nice to the children? Is he handsome?”
In Robertson’s eyes, it is clear that the role of a woman in society is to remain subservient to her husband, no matter what the husband does, and if a man cheats, it is the woman’s fault for not satisfying her husband’s needs.
In addition to his most recent advice, in January Robertson blamed marital infidelity on “awful-looking” women. “A woman came to a preacher that I know, and she was awful looking. Her hair was all torn up and she was overweight and looked terrible, clothes bad and everything. And she said, ‘Oh, Reverend, what can I do?’ And the preacher looked at her and said, ‘Madam, if I was married to you I’d start to drink too,’” he said, before saying “You’ve got to fix yourself up, look pretty.” The Huffington Post reports that this wasn’t the first time Robertson has blamed a woman for her husband’s infidelity.