Joshua (in front) and Jacob, at an appearance in NYC earlier this fall. Today, they're talking about the news about getting excommunicated from their family's church, just for being gay (!). And they're, like, really nice and smart about it.

STOP THE PRESSES! EXCLUSIVE STUFF HERE!

News came out yesterday that Jacob and Joshua Miller, the gay identical twins who just happen to make up the pop-star duo of Nemesis (and who starred in their own Logo reality series this fall, Jacob & Joshua: Nemesis Rising) have been “disfellowshipped” by their family's Jehovah’s Witness congregation back in their home state of Montana. This is a big deal.

All throughout the Nemesis Rising series, you learned how Jacob and Joshua were raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses, and as they grappled with the issues of coming out and trying to make it as pop stars, they also wondered how the fact of their being openly gay would affect their family, since their parents’ religion doesn’t allow devout Jehovah’s Witnesses to associate with those who have left the faith. Jacob and Joshua haven’t been practicing JW’s for a while, since homosexuality is a big no-no. (Yep, pretty much if you’re openly gay, you’re no longer a Jehovah’s Witness.) But this new official development could, at worst, cut them off from their family... for good.

Meanwhile, news of the twins getting disfellowshipped (quite the ominous mouth-full of a word, eh?) popped up in news reports and on blogs. And it’s all rather intense and a bit fascinating. So, to find out what it all means, I managed to get on the phone with Jacob and Joshua last night. What follows (it’s a lot!) is our conversation about this strange turn of events. It’s like a crash course in theology, a “don’t ask, don’t tell” passion play, and a gripping family drama all in one.

(And yes, there’s also some news about Nemesis' impending album release!)

Anyway, read on! And give props to the to the guys for being steadfast and true to themselves.

Thanks for talking guys... How did you hear about the “disfellowship” news?

Jacob: It was so sad. One of our friends, who’s a Jehovah’s Witness in our hometown [Kalispell, Montana] was at the meeting. So, she sent Joshua a text message: “Oh my god, they just disfellowshipped you.”

Joshua: My heart dropped. It was a sudden announcement that took everyone by surprise, including our parents. And our friend, of course, wasn’t supposed to talk to us after the announcement, but she ran out of the meeting crying, and sent the text message. And that was the first I’d heard of it.

So you didn’t know this was going to be happening?

Jacob: No. Normally when they disfellowship somebody, the elders meet with them first and they talk with them about it. In this case, they didn’t; nobody made any effort to contact us. They just made the announcement.

Joshua: And they have access to us. Our grandfather is one of the elders.

Do they give you details about what exactly the grounds for this are?

Jacob: No, absolutely nothing. We haven’t even spoken to anyone. They just get on up onstage and make the announcement that “Jacob and Joshua Miller are no longer Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

Is being gay in and of itself grounds for getting “disfellowshipped”?

Jacob: In short, yes. When we were 15, we got baptized, which means you have to then abide by the rules and laws of the church, and if you don’t, then they can take all kinds of actions. They can privately reproove you, they can publicly reproove you, or they can decide to disfellowship you...

When you get reprooved, it’s like receiving a warning?

Jacob: Exactly. And they’ll share scriptures with you about your wrongdoing and then you’re given an opportunity to correct the situation. But basically if you’re gay, then there is no place for you within the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

And the laws prohibiting homosexuality in the faith are Biblically based?

Jacob: They’re based on the scriptures in the Bible that say “men who lie with men will not inherit God’s kingdom.” The same verse that says also singles out murderer, idolators, adulterers, thieves, fornicators...

So you knew this could happen, right?

Jacob: We knew it would be an issue. Joshua and I moved away from our hometown ten years ago and started working in the music industry and we’ve lived our lives pretty much the same as we do today. But the TV series raised our profile as openly gay people to the point where the church felt like it was necessary for them to make a public announcement saying that we were disfellowshipped.

Joshua: We’d just always hoped it wouldn’t happen. I’ve racked my brain trying to figure out what benefit for anyone could come from making that announcement. I can’t seem to find one.

Was it like they couldn’t somehow not acknowledge it?

Jacob: Exactly, even though so much time has passed since we’d lived in that area anyway, and we weren’t interracting with the local Jehovah’s Witnesses there... And frankly, we still have a lot of respect for Jehovah’s Witnesses and the religion that we were raised in. We were raised with good morals and a strong sense of character. Jehovah’s Witness are generally wonderful people. I had just hoped that more of a tolerant message would be shown, on their part.

Jacob (with boyfriend Nick) in NYC earlier this fall. Joshua was there, too.

What does this all mean in terms of having contact with your family or friends at home?

Jacob: There’s no way to know. It basically means that our immediate family members are supposed to limit their contact with us, or have no assocation with us at all. And any Jehovah’s Witnesses who know us or that we might come in contact with us around the world, now that we’ve been disfellowshipped, are not allowed to speak to us. And if they do, they risk the repercussions of being taken before the elders themselves and possibly being disfellowshipped also.

But for instance, can your Mom call you on the phone?

Jacob: The short answer is yes. They don’t say that your parents or your siblings or immediate family can’t ever talk to you again. But they encourage them to limit their contact, and many parents of disfellowshipped children choose, because they believe so strongly in their faith, not to speak to their kids anymore. Now, whether or not our parents will do that, I’d like to think that that won’t happen, but there’s not anyway to know that at the moment.

So, you’re just kind of waiting to get a phone call... Isn’t that sort of maddening?

Jacob: It’s all very fresh right now. I haven’t heard from them yet, but I’ll reach out to them in the next couple of days if I don’t hear from them, and we’ll just see where it goes. I know this is all incredibly upsetting to them, because they’re in the community up there and this is a big deal to them, and it impacts their lives on every front.

Joshua: And bear in ming that we were raised in Kalispell and now for thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses there, it’s going to be painful for them, too. Even if there is someone there who wants to stand up and say “I love you both, and I’ll maintain a relationship with you,” if Jacob and I go home and are even seen with a Jehovah’s Witness there, the elders can take judicial action against that person, and they can be disfellowshipped.

How do you think your folks will hold up dealing with all of this?

Jacob: I think it’s going to be really hard for them. And the saddest thing to me is that, if you saw the show, we made sure that we didn’t say anything bad about Jehovah’s Witnesses. We wanted everybody to know that we’re proud of the way that we were raised. We were proud of our faith and our family, and how loving everyone was. And for it to all end with this, it’s just so unnecessary. There could have been a better way.

Joshua: The whole thing ends up being very painful... I don’t think there’s anything wrong with following a faith and believing in God and worshipping, but as a result of this, I think some people close to us will have their faith shaken and compromised, and that’s really unfortunate.

At some point years ago, you must have realized that you eventually probably would be leaving the faith?

Jacob: It’s difficult, because in all honesty, if you could be gay and be Jehovah’s Witnesses, I don’t have any doubts that Joshua and I still would be.

Do you still consider yourself spiritual people?

Jacob: Oh very. I’m more spiritual today than I ever was when I lived in Montana. It’s different. My sense of spirituality is broader. But I feel, for the first time, that my love for God and his love for me is a personal relationship, and it’s not something that someone can take away from you. Joshua: Right. I don’t believe in God the way I was brought up to believe in God, but I consider myself a very spiritual person.

If you would have been able to be present at that meeting in Kalispell, what would you have liked to say to the people gathered there?

Jacob: I would say the same thing to them that I’m saying to you. I would have tried to explain, from my point of view, “What choice do I have?” I have the choice to either denounce my faith, and embrace my life as a gay man who is in a loving and committed relationship now going on seven years. Or to throw my relationship away, denounce my being gay and live a lie. And I don’t understand what kind of choice that is.

Jacob & Joshua: Religious woes should soon be behind them, so bring on that new album!

Now about your music... When will your album be out?

Jacob: It’s slated for release the first week in February. I’m so excited. We’ve got shows coming up and we’ve got dates booked around the country. We’re doing everything we can to keep the music going. The record label is really working the single hard at radio and it’s doing really well. We're on the Billboard dance charts.

Joshua: Everything is done; at the pieces are in place. We’re so excited about it, so when things like this disfellowship happens, it’s not only hurful and sad, it’s a distraction. Jacob and I have been trying to do this for our whole lives; it’s our dream. So, we’re excited.

And it’s now the holiday season. I know Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate Christmas or any traditional holidays, but what are your plans for this time of year?

Jacob: Nick, my boyfriend is going to go home to Nashville and celebrate Christmas with his family, and I’m just going to be here in Los Angeles. Joshua and I will be here, and we’ll get together with friends, and we’ve gotten some wonderful gifts from friends... The holidays thing is all very new to us. After a lifetime of not celebrating holidays, when the holidays roll around I have no idea what to do! [laughs]

Joshua: I feel in the holiday spirit, I love all the lights and all the presents and everybody’s sense of giving. Jehovah’s Witnesses where we grew up would be horrified to know that I’m celebrating Christmas, that would be as shocking as the fact that I’ve been disfellowshipped. But our producers sent us over a gift that I’m very excited about.

What did you get?

Joshua: They gave us a little mini-shopping spree at Fred Segal. I can’t wait!

Well, at least throughout all of this--including the heaviness of the disfellowship stuff--at least you guys have each other for support. It’s not like you’re facing this all totally alone.

Jacob: That’s a blessing that will never go away. Come hell or high water, at least we have each other.

**************

P.S. Speaking of holidays... I’m off now for the Xmas weekend. Have a great holiday everybody. See you next week!

Happy! Merry! Greetings!

Peace.