Ellen DeGeneres expressed her anguish after news that an 18-year-old Rutgers University student, Tyler Clementi, committed suicide after his roommate and another student allegedly videotaped him having sex with another man.
“I am devastated by the death of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi. If you don’t know, Tyler was a bright student at Rutgers University whose life was senselessly cut short. He was outed as being gay on the Internet and he killed himself,” Ellen said in a video posted on her show’s website and also in a segment which aired on her Friday’s show.
“Something must be done. This month alone, there has been a shocking number of news stories about teens who have been teased and bullied and then committed suicide; like 13-year-old Seth Walsh in Tehachapi, California. Asher Brown, 13, of Cypress, Texas and 15-year-old Billy Lucas in Greensberg, Indiana. This needs to be a wake-up call to everyone: teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic in this country, and the death rate is climbing,” Ellen continued in the clip. “One life lost in this senseless way is tragic. Four lives lost is a crisis. And these are just the stories we hear about. How many other teens have we lost? How many others are suffering in silence? Being a teenager and figuring out who you are is hard enough without someone attacking you.
“My heart is breaking for their families, their friends and for a society that continues to let this happen. These kids needed us. We have an obligation to change this. There are messages everywhere that validate this kind of bullying and taunting and we have to make it stop. We can’t let intolerance and ignorance take another kid’s life,” Ellen said in the clip.
According to the Associated Press, Clementi’s roommate, Dharun Ravi, and fellow student Molly Wei are charged with invasion of privacy, and if convicted could spend up to five years in prison.
When contacted by the AP, Ravi’s lawyer did not respond to requests for comment and an attorney believed to be representing Wei also did not respond when contacted for comment.
Prosecutors have reportedly not yet determined if the case is, in fact, a hate crime. The tape of Clementi and the other male was allegedly going to be streamed online.
“The on-going investigation is considering the motives leading to the illegal Internet transmission of a personal encounter involving the victim,” the Middlesex County, N.J., Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement on Thursday. “We will be making every effort to assess whether bias played a role in the incident, and, if so, we will bring appropriate charges.”
Former “Ugly Betty” star Michael Urie also spoke out about the tragedy in a video on YouTube.
“It will get better. Bullies aren’t bullies forever and these hard times will eventually go away and be replaced by great times, then hard time again, and then great times again, and mostly life will be fantastic,” he said in the video. “I was very lucky. I’m from Texas. I had a lot of support growing up. I was never made to feel like who I was was not okay. I had places to turn. I know that’s not true for everybody… If you feel like there’s no one to talk to, keep looking, they’re out there.”
Adding, “Life will get better, I promise.”
To see Ellen’s video, CLICK HERE and to view Michael’s, CLICK HERE.
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