Relieved “he’s not gay”: Colorado Springs suspect’s porn-star Dad gives bizarre, homophobic interview about his kid, who is currently facing murder charges
Former MMA-fighter turned-porn-actor Aaron Franklin Brink, father of Colorado Springs massacre suspect Anderson Lee Aldrich, is seemingly not a fan of gay people. At all.
Per reports from The Daily Beast, upon learning that his 22-year-old offspring had been accused of slaughtering five people and injuring 18 others, in what appeared to be a targeted attack on the LGBTQ+ community, Brink’s main reaction was relief… because he found out his son is “not gay”.
A defence attorney called Sunday night and told Brink, who lives in Southern California, the news that his estranged kid, Anderson Lee Aldrich, had been arrested for the massacre at Club Q.
“They started telling me about the incident, a shooting involving multiple people,” Brink said Tuesday in an interview outside his San Diego home with CBS 8. “And then I go on to find out it’s a gay bar. I said, ‘God, is he gay?’ I got scared, ‘Shit, is he gay?’ And he’s not gay, so I said, ‘Phhhewww…’”
Brink is a recovering methamphetamine user who once appeared on the reality show Intervention.
It seems like the extended family had distanced themselves from Aldrich and both their parents, telling The Daily Beast shortly after the shooting:
“I don’t want anything to do with that part of the family,” the relative said, asking that their name not be used to avoid becoming tangled up with them again. “They’ve always had issues, a lot of problems… I’m totally disgusted by that side of the family right now.”
Shortly after their arrest, it emerged that Aldrich’s grandfather is Randy Voepel, California State Assemblyman and MAGA supporter who praised the actions of the January 6th insurrectionists, comparing them to American Revolutionaries. Voepel was recently rejected by voters in the midterms.
Let us not only #MAGA, but Make California Great Again! Grateful to be representing my district in the State Assembly. #InaugurationDay pic.twitter.com/8zw9iryUxM
— Asm. Randy Voepel (@RandyVoepel) January 20, 2017
In a court filing obtained by New York Times today, lawyers for Aldrich, who in 2016 changed his name from Nicholas Franklin Brink to escape his father’s reputation as an adult actor, said Aldrich is non-binary, stating “they use they/them pronouns.”
However, booking records list Aldrich’s gender as male.
Additionally, in text messages from the day of the shooting, which were shown to The Daily Beast by a source close to Aldrich, Aldrich’s mother used he/ him pronouns and referred to them as son.
It has also emerged that Aldrich was, at one point, part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Mormon Church has confirmed that although Aldrich was a member, he had not been active in a while.
Today Colorado Springs PD released Aldrich’s booking image, clearly showing the bruises inflected as patrons at the venue wrestled them to the ground:
BREAKING: Colorado Springs PD release booking photo of a bruised Anderson Lee Aldrich, the suspect charged with the Club Q shooting#LGBTQ #LGBTnews #ColoradoSprings #AndersonLeeAldrich #clubq pic.twitter.com/5v8CedNuAC
— Queer Insider 🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️ (@qitweets) November 24, 2022
In Brink’s interview with CBS 8 (below), he apologized for Aldrich’s alleged actions, saying there’s “no excuse for going and killing people. If you’re killing people, there’s something wrong. It’s not the answer.”
However, also in the bizarre interview, Brink said he “praised [Aldrich] for violent behavior really early. I told him it works. It is instant and you’ll get immediate results.”
Watch the interview below:
A disturbing video of Aldrich began circulating on social media this week (below), seemingly a live stream of when they were arrested in June 2021, having a standoff with law enforcement after threatening to blow-up their mother’s house with her still inside.
Video of Anderson Lee Aldrich last year live-streaming his standoff with police after threatening to blow up the house his mother was in. #ColoradoSprings pic.twitter.com/zwkQOmS3Sx
— Shawn Schwaller (@madprofes) November 21, 2022