The daughter of a nationally syndicated Christian radio talk show host has come out as bisexual in an open letter to the queer community.

In the letter for AL.com, Brandi Burgess writes about the tension that exists between herself and her father, Rick Burgess of the popular Evangelical talk show "Rick & Bubba," an Alabama-based program that regularly features anti-LGBT sermons.

She explains that while she's often been used as a character in her father's radio stories, once she came out to him as bisexual, he began to cast her in a darker light.

“The story my father [now] tells is one of a lost lamb, covered in shame,” Burgess remarks. “In his public musings, he speaks of my sin. Without my consent, he uses me as a cautionary tale.”

Burgess says the trouble started three years ago when she posted a photo on social media from a local Pride event.

"It started with my Instagram post at a Pride parade: a picture of a mother holding a sign saying 'I love my gay son,'" she writes. "I got a text demanding its removal: 'How dare you compromise my platform!?' 'Remember who you represent.' 'Are you a gay?'"

After this incident, the Philadelphia-based actress reflected and prayed on the many emails, sermons and verses her father sent her about the dangers of homosexuality, but says she always came back to the same conclusion: "love is love."

She then told her father that she wouldn't change because she couldn't change, but promised to be discreet. He replied: "You think you're so mod, so special. But you're nothing. You're typical."

Since then, the 27-year-old has experienced a "constant barrage of shame" from her family, which inspired her to speak out and share her story with others struggling to come to terms with their identities.

"I let my father's message of shame define me," she states. "I hated my body, sabotaged relationships, believed I was unworthy of love.

"So now, I am writing to the young women who feel like they don't belong in their bodies, to the boys who want to kiss boys, and those on the spectrum between...I love you."

"Your worth is untouchable," she continues. "Find a good friend. Invest in therapy. Dance in the middle of the night and hold yourself accountable to the life you've always wanted. At the root of all this hate speech is fear. This is not your fear to carry. Release it."

Now, Brandi's father and step-mother are speaking out about their struggle and how they're handling the conflict with their daughter.

“This has become a new version of Christianity,” Rick said on a recent segment of his talk show. “Sadly, our daughter and others have bought into this new hippie version of Jesus.”

“When she first came to us about this, I didn’t believe her," Sherri added. "I didn’t believe what she was saying. I didn’t believe that she believed what she was saying. But over time she’s convinced me that she really does feel this way.”

Accepting her daughter's truth, step-mom and dad now believe they are engaged in a “a battle between the Bible and the world. God versus the world.”

“This daughter is not gone,” Sherri concluded, “so we have all the hope in the world she will come back to us.”

h/t: LGBTQ Nation