Following the suicides last week of five young men who took their lives because of being bullied, taunted and or tormented for being gay – some of Hollywood’s biggest stars are bringing awareness to these senseless deaths and demanding change.
Kathy Griffin, Wanda Sykes, Lance Bass, Nate Berkus and Tim Gunn shared their thoughts on Monday’s “Larry King Live” about the harrowing subject.
“It’s almost sanctioned to bully gay people and treat them as second class citizens,” longtime LGBT advocate and ally Kathy said.
Over the weekend, “Glee’s” Mathew Morrison told Access Hollywood that the subject would be addressed in an upcoming episode of his hit FOX show.
“School bullying and stuff are things that we actually talk about in the show in the future,” he said at the “Glee” benefit for the Rape Treatment Center in Los Angeles.
New “Glee” star Dot-Marie Jones, who stopped by Access’ offices on Monday, echoed Matt’s sentiments.
“I think there’s a lot of parents who need their a**es kicked, because it starts at home,” Dot-Marie told Access. “If you’re raised in a family where you’re open to anything and everything, which everybody should be, they’re not hurting anybody. No one’s hurting anybody it just makes me so furious, any kind of bullying.”
Many stars have taken to YouTube and various websites with videos on the subject matter.
Elton John, Ricky Martin and Cyndi Lauper are among the celebrities featured in a new PSA titled “Hate Crimes: We Give A Damn,” which calls for gay bullying to stop.
The “It Gets Better” campaign started by noted sex advice columnist and frequent TV news show pundit Dan Savage (and his boyfriend Terry) has enlisted the help of stars such as Sarah Silverman, Bravo’s Andy Cohen, gossip queen Perez Hilton, “ANTM” Cycle 1 winner Adrienne Curry and “Glee’s” Chris Colfer to help in the fight.
MTV has also launched the “Love is Louder” campaign, for which stars like “Jersey Shore’s” Snooki, J-WOWW and Vinny, Brittany Snow, “Mean Girls’” Jonathan Bennett and “Chuck’s” Zachary Levi are calling for an end to bullying.
For more information on how to stop the bullying of LGBT youth and help gay teens who are considering suicide, check out The Trevor Project, HERE.
Last week, 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. To see her video, CLICK HERE.
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