We interrupt your regularly scheduled penises for another very important public service announcement. Well, several public service announcements. The recent string of gay teen suicides has provoked several celebrities to become involved with The Trevor Project and the It Gets Better campaign, as they speak out against the bullying of LGBT individuals.
Some of the videos are incredibly heartbreaking, while a few come off as nothing more than a PR move. In the end, even the latter group should be commended for addressing this very sensitive topic. Although we’ve rounded up a good amount of the responses, we realize this isn’t all of them. Feel free to leave a comment with anyone we left out, and we’ll do our best to add it to the post.
– Dewitt
To watch a collection of the videos, follow the JUMP:
A.J. MCLEAN:
CHRIS COLFER:
CIARA & LALA VASQUEZ:
CYNDI LAUPER:
DAVE HOLMES:
HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED:
JAKE SHEARS:
JEWEL:
JOEL MADDEN:
KATHY GRIFFIN:
KE$HA:
LANCE BASS:
MICHAEL URIE:
NEIL PATRICK HARRIS:
NICKI MINAJ:
SARAH SILVERMAN:
SKY FERREIRA:
TIM GUNN:
TREVOR DONOVAN:
WICKED CAST:
ZACHARY QUINTO:
this is useless.
why doesn’t glaad, the trevor project etc etc knowing that gay youth will be susceptable to bullying offer
a) centers that provide free self-defense classes to gay youth. there are many gym trainers, sports guys, jocks etc that are out and proud and they can volunteer to give these free classes.
b) this will help with self-esteem and really prove to gay youth that they are not alone, since other youth in the communtiy will turn up for the classes. things like judo, karate etc build self-esteem and help if a bully is around.
b) nothing says stop bullying me – like a cup of whip a$$.
c) as it is – this is turning into a way for hasbeens and other celebs to get their 15 minutes of attention. same with the whole gay marriage thing – every celeb after a while popped up to tell us they supported it – in time for a movie or something they needed to promote. how many actually bothered to attend the marches or do anything constructive after they got 15 minutes off the cause.
Woot! Go Cyndi Lauper!
On the other hand it would be nice if some politicos came out in support of gay rights. Ie. Mary Cheney. I’m kind of tired of celebrities being the only real supporters of gay rights. It’s truly depressing to think that they blacks had Martin Luther King and we get Lady Gaga…
Excuse me, that should say the blacks, not they.
diorgasm
i wouldn’t say celebrities are “true supporters” of gay rights.
many just come along to take 15 minutes out of the cause as the latest stream of videos show (people who we haven’t heard from in years, or people who have something to promote).
same thing happened with gay marriage – tons of celebs used the cause to get attention but very few stuck around once the conservatives started to get tough.
yeah lady gaga gets commended because she actually attends the marches consistently.
the other celebs who came out in support of gay marriage, right as they had a movie or something they wanted to promote – don’t deserve commendation and thats not “support”.
thats taking 15 minutes out of the cause which is actually destructive.
Okay Alex… your definition of Bullying is very limited.
The Mental Abuse will not be protected by martial arts classes.
And Besides Violence is NOT the answer. If we beat someone down foe calling us fag we are no better than they are.
It may get better in someways. However, we as Gay Adults are still suffering the bullying as we did when we were younger just on a different level. We are having our rights ripped away from us by religious fanatics running our country even though there is suppose to be a separation of church and state. We are unable to server our country as openly as other members in the service do. We are told we can’t marry those we love. We sit back and we watch and we DO NOTHING about it. Petitions don’t work, blowing your congressman’s phone up doesn’t work. We need more people to get out and be vocal but even people who would be role models are afraid to come out in their industries. Gay Sportsmen are afraid they will loose their jobs by coming out. Gay Actors are afraid they will be limited to playing on gay roles. Gay Congress/Senate believe they will be forced to resign cause they “ran as a lie” for not saying they were gay from the start. Gay clergymen steal innocence from youth because they rather a child hurt then loose their position.
Its not the Children that have to change our future… IT IS US!
oh and FYI Alex… I hold a Black Belt in TaeKwonDo. if anything martial arts taught me not to react on my emotions, it didn’t teach me to beat someones ass for calling me names and mentally abusing me.
What got me through high school (I came out Sophomore year) Was that even though I had bullies, I had friends that supported me. The Entire Football team, the Track and Field Teams, ROTC, and even Band all had my back. Aye I was one of the popular kids but I wasn’t rich I had nothing to offer, except I was there for them and they returned the favour.
Thanks for saying all I wanted to say DCTiGGeR. Further to that, not every small town in America can support that kind of program, and often times the small towns are the hardest places to be a gay youth. You may not get gyms, etc. there, but you do get the internet and all these messages mean something. 100%. Maybe not to everyone, but it still matters.
DCTigger
1) I’m not talking VIOLENCE, I’m talking SELF-DEFENSE, many women are ENCOURAGED to go for self-defense classes for example so that if a would be attacker/rapist attacked them, they know how to DEFEND themselves.
2)Many of these kids stories involve actual violence where they had their arms broken etc. If we could hold off – the narcisstic celebrity worship for a while and actually hear about the kids then one would see that
3) Also a teen being mentally abused, going to a center that teaches self-defense – seeing other teens there, hearing that they are going through the same thing (bullying) would help the kid realize that he/she is not alone more than a PR announcement from a celeb no one has heard from in years. This could help straight kids being bullied as well. GLAAD could set up anti-bullying centers. The free classes would be a way of getting bullied teens there (mentally or otherwise) and having them realize there is help and seeing others there (their own peers) would aid them in not feeling isolated.
4) Martial arts does help with endurance, character building etc as you yourself said. And you should really consider sharing your skills with vulnerable kids in the communities
5) As you said “The Entire Football team, the Track and Field Teams, ROTC” no one easily messes with the tough guys gay or straight
DCTigger
In fact your last post proves my point.
” I hold a Black Belt in TaeKwonDo. if anything martial arts taught me not to react on my emotions, it didn’t teach me to beat someones ass for calling me names and mentally abusing me.
What got me through high school (I came out Sophomore year) Was that even though I had bullies, I had friends that supported me. The Entire Football team, the Track and Field Teams, ROTC, and even Band all had my back. Aye I was one of the popular kids but I wasn’t rich I had nothing to offer, except I was there for them and they returned the favour.”
You have a black belt in TaeKwonDo and it taught you that important – survival instinct, it also taught you to distance yourself from your emotions which is very good when dealing with name calling etc – the same reason women are encouraged to go to self-defense classes, many times rapists aren’t physically stronger – but the women don’t have the survival instinct
Also really how many bullies were going to attack you while you sat there, with your black belt, talking to equally menacing looking guys from the football team – it would be a bully with a death wish himself or a very, very brave bully.
Lets be practical here
1) One guy enters a room, exuding a tough, don’t mess with me attitude (thats the type of confidence self-defense/martial arts instills) because he knows he can DEFEND himself
2) Another guy walks in, shrinking, a little bit scared looking etc.
The bully’s obvious victim is number 2.
@T tons of celebrities apparently “supported” gay marriage and can gays get married yet – that whole celebrity thing didn’t help one bit since sorry many just used it to promote themselves. how many actually bothered to attend the marches consistently? if the celeb is using the cause to get attention – chances are the cause won’t get helped.
Also have you seen Out magazine’s lists of top 100 most powerful gays.
Gays own most of the media, many have millions etc so there will be a way to reach even those kids in the fatherest regions (no reason they can’t hop on a bus to their nearest free self-defense class thats closest to their location) this information provided by GLAAD of course, instead of turning this into a celebrity promo event
Tim Gunn’s story is really touching. Cyndi is very invested, too. I don’t think we should be cynical about anybody’s motives in the campaign, but thankful for their action and support.
MSquare
I’m not cynical about the celebs who actually CONSISTENTLY attend marches and consistently speak out and are involved.
I agree Lady Gaga, Lauper etc put consistent effort in, even when the going gets tough but there are others that just use causes to promote themselves.
There are celebrities who use their celebrity to highlight the cause – then there are those who use the cause to highlight themselves and the latter is very destructive.
Take the gay marriage thing for example – the focus should have been on yes the celebrities actually helping, and then cut out all of those who were just using it to get attention and put that focus on the gay population that are denied access to their spouses on their deathbeds and the poignant stories from the gay community instead of the celebs hijacking the cause to promote their movie/cd/just haven’t received attention in a while etc.
As soon as the going got tough and the anti-gay crowd voted against gay marriage – how many of those same celebrities bothered to attend the protest marches etc.
Only Gaga and Lauper really come to mind among the straight celebs.
So the gay marriage thing should prove hype doesn’t necessarily lead to anything and focus on the wrong things i.e just a celebrity looking for attention isn’t the way to make a change.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPz9HZM56LY
if any of the readers here feel comfortable enough to tell your story will you please record it and add it as a video response to our video. we want to get something global going on. maybe the silly dreams of young guys, but if it helps our cause at all. then please!
Alex,
The reason they have celebrities making these messages is that many kids in high school look up to, and view celebrities as role models. Imagine if Zachary Quinto was your hero, and you watched a video of him telling you it was going to be ok, and that it would get better.
Wouldn’t that do something for you?
If You are Homosexual and live in a small town…LEAVE ! I’ve lived it. I came from a small town, dealt with the Abuse, from fellow students and my own Relatives. I got OUT. I’ve lived in most “Gay Meccas” NYC, ATLANTA, MIAMI, FT. LAUD SAN FRANCISCO SAN JUAN. There is a BIG Beautiful World out there. We are a NATURAL part of Nature. I teared up the first time I saw animals in nature having same sex relations ( 2 male Giraffes with their necks wrapped around each other )and NO, I’m not implying we are animals, just a NATURAL part of this World.. We are HERE, We will ALWAYS be here, so make the most of it. Our only “sin” is being Homosexual in the USA, small town America is run by Relgious Fanatics and Haters.The moment You are in a Major City, You will see Yourself in others all around You, and You will KNOW You BELONG. Live WELL, but more IMPORTANT – LOVE WELL !
Here we go again – criticizing people who are at least doing something. How many of us (meaning us gay men) have done a single thing about what’s happening to gay teens, marriage rights, or anything that does not have direct bearing on us personally, and more specifically, our dicks or asses – and yet we can bitch about celebrities. When you’re out there working toward these causes, you can talk. Until then, shut the fuck up and go back to your porn.
Razorb
I’m sorry I heard the same argument with the gay marriage efforts- that people look up to celebs and if a celeb makes a two minute video, annoucement and then never does anything for the cause again – they (people) will automatically vote for gay marriage/support it etc and look how that turned out.
I don’t see how some dude from a band that was last heard from ages ago – assuring everybody “everything will be okay and things will get better” will make a difference.
If anything it lulls people into a false sense of security instead of DCTIGGER, you, me taking action and going to help out youth in centers etc everybody is comforting themselves with the fact that
aj maclean from the backstreet boys or was it n’sync or was it 98 degrees or was it … well you get my drift.. is assuring us with a very vague statement that “things will get better”. how exactly??
and yes i might feel better if i was a kid being bullied, seeing my favorite celeb consistently involved might make me feel better, but a two minute annoucement and then nothing at all.
someone mentioned MLK, and the civil right’s movement – the difference was that the civil right’s movement was about ACTION, and CIVILILIANS actually creating a change being higlighted.
maybe nothing would have changed – if instead of focussing on rosa parks, MLK etc the cause had been diverted to “hey Elvis says – blacks are cool people” for two minutes before he released his new movie/ single etc. the focus would be on Elvis and how kind he was – instead of the suffering and the actions of rosa parks and MLK, and if elvis promptly forgot about the cause as soon as the cd/movie was out – the hype wouldn’t have really benefitted anybody but elvis.
i’m just saying hype doesn’t necessarily mean substance.
it just seems some of these people either needed a way to get their names out in the public eye again and seeing as bullying is the new topical issue – they attached themselves to it and they will be getting the most of it and the attention would be better served actually focussing on the kids. or some of them have things to promote.
overthebullshit says:
“Here we go again – criticizing people who are at least doing something.”
I’m not criticizing people who are doing “something” and thats a very vague statement. In some of their cases – the something seems to be self-promotion rather than something.
I always ask: “what is something”.
Something to me means CONSISTENT involvement, not just when theres hype, it means when the going gets tough and the anti-gay crowd starts – actually attending the protests.
Any person celebrity or otherwise who is CONSISTENTLY involved gets commended.
Just a thought – look at how successful the anti-gay movement has been and how much of it has involved celebrities, and those that are involved just donate CONSISTENTLY quietly on the sly.
Most of the ads, campaigns, protests on the anti-gay side involve ordinary people, its a grassroots campaign. Most of the ads run – its two parents sitting there – very relatable, i.e “people just like you and me think its wrong”.
And that was my point, maybe a gay teen being bullied would relate more to seeing another gay teen, and hearing from other gay teens at a youth center (i.e people just like you and me), more than they would from an uber rich celeb, who isn’t even going to be involved as soon as the hype is over.
Celebrities have no idea how the real world works or how to related to “real” people/issues because they live in self-contained, cushioned bubbles.
I’m sorry, but celebrities really are out to promote themselves and keep themselves relevant; nothing more. I can’t take anyone in Hollywood seriously when they “speak out” on any issue.
It’s also offensive that bullying is labeled into “non-LGBT bullying” and “LGBT bullying.”
Last I checked, bullying is still bullying, right?
Oh, that’s right, the gays need to make it a point to be different instead of aligning with the rest of society in a common cause.
Don’t forget Whoopi Goldberg! She’s at every rally we have in NYC, marching right with us and standing shoulder to shoulder with us in support.
I believe that doing ANYTHING is better than doing nothing, regardless of their motives. Ellen’s impassioned plea on her show reached millions of middle Americans, who watch her every day, without thinking, “Oh yeah, she’s a lesbian.” They just like her. THAT is how things need to change.
Whether gay, straight, rich, poor, white, black, Asian, Muslim, Christian, or whatever…. when our youth blow their brains out, they still bleed RED…. and the blood is on the hands of every right wing extremist who preaches how evil we are, and blames us for everything from wars to hurricanes, and mad cow disease, and AIDS, and every blight on humanity. People like the Pope, and the leaders of Focus on the Family, and the American Family Association who attack us mercilessly and do their best to fan the flames of hatred are responsible for every death of every young person who is bullied about being gay. They need to be held accountable and it has to be stopped.
We need to be as passionate and devoted to OUR CAUSE as they are to fighting us! Each and every one of us!
BigCofNYC
I agree with everything you are saying except this one line:
“I believe that doing ANYTHING is better than doing nothing,”
To me rather do nothing than do something that will hurt the cause.
Lets face it causes have whats called “limited face time”. This issue is going to be in the media spotlight for a limited time until floods in Haiti take over, or hurricanes in Pakistan etc
1) During that time (which may only be for two weeks) for real change (positive change) to happen its important that the actual cause – the kids get highlighted and that people aren’t distracted with celebs looking for face time. I’m not talking about the Whoopi’s, Gagas, or Laupers. We all know who the fame whores are and they need to be cut out and the attention needs to go to the campaign and real change.
If one looks at the uber successful anti-gay rights movement – NOW, Mormons etc – they utilize their time very successfully, in most of the ads – its two parents sitting, very calmly decrying gay rights, they ran others with university students just sitting and chatting, and others with two surfers chatting
Its relatable – other parents watching can identify with concern for children etc etc.
What needs to happen now, and I would encourage as one other person said – to include straight parents whose kids might be bullied as well-
Is a campaign and ads with parents holding candles and telling their stories – one segment kid bullied because of being gay, another because she was not one of the “popular” kids etc etc
Very relatable and the message needs to be – It can be your cousin, your kid, your friend, your child. So stop bullying in its tracks.
That would be a relatable campaign which would draw straight parents looking for options to prevent bullying for their straight kids into GLAAD as well.
Instead of everybody in the gay movement being starstruck and pointing AWAY from all of this and at “so and so” getting off their private jet, out of their limos, clutching their Vuitton purses, to tell us “little people” that “everything will get better”. Its vague and not relatable quite frankly and will only help so and so with the movie/cd/etc that will no doubt soon be forthcoming
With every cause thats succeeded, Civil rights, Abortion, etc etc it was the activists working tirelessly and the grassroots campaign.
Alex, you’re speaking from YOUR perspective, but looking at it the way the moms and dads of the kids who are doing the bullying look at it, they DO pay attention to what the celebrities are saying. They pattern their lives around them. They buy the same clothes that they espouse and promote. They want the same shoes, and handbag, and will wear the top 3 buttons on their shirt open because that’s the way Tom Cruise was wearing his on Access Hollywood last night, with the collar half up and half down.
It’s better that they listen to what their favorite singer from N-Sync is saying to them who they used to worship on their bedroom walls than to listen to Dr. James Dodson of Focus on the Family or the asshole from the 700 Club who is always telling them they need to recruit everyone to send them more money and by the way, hate the gays because “God says it’s an abomination!”
If a major network would show the movie starring Sigourney Weaver, “Prayers for Bobby” that tells the story of a college age boy who kills himself because he hates himself largely as a result of his mom badgering him to death about him being gay, it would change so much, because it’s an amazing movie with powerful performances! And with Tyler Clementi jumping from a bridge into the river, much the same as Bobby jumped from an overpass into traffic, no one could miss the irony!
I watched Jake Shears’ and Zachary Quinto’s, and they were both down to earth, relateable, and sincere… Jake’s was downright brilliant, especially since he is such a garish character, the shift and sincerity was all the more apparent.
I didn’t watch Ke$ha’s because she seems like she lives in a garbage can, and is just an obnoxious fame whore.
Lance Bass seemed super disingenuous, which is a shame.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPz9HZM56LY
Tim Gunn and the Wicked cast: You are my heros.
Bigc We heard the same with the gay marriage debate. I’m basing my posts on that. You basically told me in your last post that celebs have an ability to sell their merchandise to the public and some of them are using causes to do just that. They are around for a short while and the only outcome is a pat on the back for them and people buying even more of their movies, songs etc. How do you know how the parents feel.the focus is not on them.
Alex, you sure have a lot to say on what celebs should not be doing. I really hope you’re putting as much energy into your own efforts to solve these problems as you are into criticizing theirs. I can guarantee you that I do. That’s a much better use of your time.
Again Alex… It would be better to teach children that they don’t have to be ashamed of themselves. They have the right to be different. It is not Better to teach a troubled youth how to kick someones arse cause as troubled as they ALREADY are there is a bigger chance they will still act on their emotions instead of taking the higher ground.
Its the fault of parents, churches, and schools for teaching children to hide themselves. This stuff boils down to acceptance at a social and community level.
Schools should teach that any difference no matter the difference we are all equal. But because of fracking churches they can’t. Parents now a days are to afraid to talk about that dread G or Q word. In fear that just talking about it will make their child gay.
And again HOW can we expect change for our children and children’s children when we as grown adults can’t even accept everyones differences. I hate to play the Civil Right Act “card” and I hate comparing gay oppression to that of African Slaves and the African American Community, however, OUR FIGHT IS THE SAME.
Both of our communities still strive for equal standing. Even though African Americans are far ahead of our standing. Our only difference is you can’t tell by looking at us what our social stigma is.
As long as the children of the world see what the adults of the world are doing… There will be a continuous circle of hate and unwelcoming arms.
The truth is, we need Alex and his ideas for self defence and consistent input from supporters AND we need every person with any influence at all to speak their mind. Maybe they start with a two minute video and maybe some stop there, but maybe that video does something for someone and it inspires them to keep doing more. ALL OF IT IS IMPORTANT. None of the suggestions are bad or wrong ones, different things work for different people and we need all the bases covered so no young person ever has to feel alone.
CHARGE THE BULLIES WITH MURDER
I’m with blueonblue. It doesn’t just happen to GAYS!!! What about the straight youth that are abused to the point of committing suicide?!? Why is this only a gay issue?
I think it’s fantastic that we have so many people who are speaking about this issue – 10 years this would have been a subject people avoided like the plague unless they were out and there weren’t that many of them (anyone remember what happened to Matthew Shepherd… there were a few brave people prepared to speak out when that happened but not as many as now). We’ve turned a corner – gay is not odd, it’s just another part of life. We’re not special, we’re normal. I don’t know about the rest of you but I believe that being ‘normal’ is something we always have been, and it’s about time we’re being supported and treated as such. I was suicidal when I was a teenager and a lot of it was to do with feeling ‘different’, and I thank the universe I am still here to experience how lucky we are today (even though we have so many more rights left to earn).
Good God… lots of long tracts on here. Really liked what Cyndi and Jewel had to say – from the heart. And Todd, it’s not *just* a gay issue, but given that gay kids are many times more likely to kill themselves, does it not make sense to target assistance to those most at risk?
Radio talk show host Stephanie Miller:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5scta0EGmA