Andrew Demeter interviewed Shirley Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church and it was surprisingly civil – mostly on his part.

In an interview for TeenTake, Andrew Demeter decided to speak to Shirley Phelps, the outspoken leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, who gained leadership after the death of her father Fred Phelps in March 2014.

The eloquent 17 year-old told the Huffington Post that he had asked Phelps for an interview on Twitter and she agreed “with relative haste”.

He asked her about her children who have left the Westboro Baptist Church – and, simultaneously, their family – due to her “religious fanaticism” and, for once, she seemed to show a softer side, speaking about her ‘heart break’ at the loss of her children.

“My goal for the interview was simple: to attempt to understand the ‘rationale’ of a hate-monger.

“The underlying message of this interview is the paradox that religion may incur violence. It is abysmal to justify hateful actions with mere words once inscribed on ancient tablets and parchment paper,” Demeter said.

Watch the interview below: