LGBT stars and allies ‘go purple’ to fight anti-gay bullying on Spirit Day
By Will Stroude
Today is GLAAD’s annual Spirit Day and celebrities have taken the pledge to help fight LGBT bullying.
Spirit Day is marked by schools as a day to stand up to LGBT bullying and several celebrities have pledged their support in videos, tweets or by wearing purple.
Will & Grace stars Debra Messing and Megan Mullally pledged their support in a video tweet.
In it, Mullally says: “No one should be bullied or called names simply for being who they are,” before urging followers to “Wear purple, and post to social media with hashtag “Spirit Day’ and hashtag ‘PrideNBCU’.
Join us & stand up to bullying. Wear purple to support LGBTQ youth for @GLAAD‘s #SpiritDay tomorrow. #prideNBCUhttps://t.co/O5wyXD7Ped pic.twitter.com/xrbZLtQPDy
— Will & Grace (@WillAndGrace) October 18, 2017
Other celebrities who support GLAAD’s annual day include Star Trek: Discovery’s Wilson Cruz, Celine Dion, Adam Lambert, Courtney Love, Lily Tomlin, Nico Tortorella and Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany.
Let it rain purple on #SpiritDay as we take a stand together against bullying, and to support LGBTQ youth! – Céline💜 https://t.co/VADhN5TYfE
— Celine Dion (@celinedion) October 19, 2017
Thank you to @SofiaCarson, @Courtney and @adamlambert for helping us and our incredible board member @justtranter kick off #SpiritDay tonight in LA!
(don’t forget to take the pledge to stand against bullying at https://t.co/AJXrimYJKz) pic.twitter.com/9jwqxEK9b0
— GLAAD (@glaad) October 19, 2017
stand up for LGBTQIA+ youth and take the pledge to go purple on 10/19 for #SpiritDay @glaad @huffpostqueer @HuffPost https://t.co/cuQxzNefdR
— Nico Tortorella (@NicoTortorella) October 18, 2017
Hey @ShadowhuntersTV (and #Malec) fans! Guess who is going purple and supporting LGBTQ youth for #SpiritDay! 💜
Join them by pledging your support: https://t.co/AJXrimYJKz pic.twitter.com/kmLcDyo75V
— GLAAD (@glaad) October 17, 2017
I’m going purple for #SpiritDay on 10/19 to stand against bullying and support LGBTQ youth. Join me! @glaad pic.twitter.com/GwYBKHIVbh
— Wilson Cruz (@wcruz73) October 16, 2017
Today I’m going purple for #SpiritDay to take a stand against bullying and to show my support for LGBTQ youth. You can too! #ChooseKindness pic.twitter.com/SBXzRLTwkK
— Jason Ritter (@JasonRitter) October 18, 2017
The iconic 🌟 @LilyTomlin 🌟 is taking a stand against bullying for #SpiritDay on 10/19! Take the pledge to join her: https://t.co/AJXrimYJKz pic.twitter.com/Nuj5dsdXCo
— GLAAD (@glaad) October 7, 2017
.@Showtime stars like @AsiaKateDillon and @Kyle_MacLachlan have signed on to support #SpiritDay and LGBTQ youth! Take the pledge to join them: https://t.co/AJXrimYJKz pic.twitter.com/TZAvVgehKB
— GLAAD (@glaad) October 16, 2017
Other celebrities confirmed to participate in the day include Britney Spears, Halsey, Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion, Mario Lopez, Olivia Newton John and Fergie.
Kellogg’s mascots support the event too as Tony the Tiger, Snap, Crackle and Pop as well as Toucan Sam all appeared in a video speaking out against bullying.
In it, the mascots stand silently holding Love Actually style signs urging people to support the campaign.
Spirit Day began in 2010 after a high school student came up with the idea of wearing purple in support of LGBT youth following the suicide of several LGBT young people.
Over the last several years, Spirit Day has garnered support from celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres, Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox, who lit up the Empire State Building in purple in 2014 to show her support.
More stories:
LGBT stars and allies turn out in force for The Virgin Holidays Attitude Awards, powered by Jaguar
All the winners from The Virgin Holidays Attitude Awards, powered by Jaguar