ANGELICA ROSS, JAMEELA JAMIL, ADAM RIPPON, KARAMO BROWN, PAULA ABDUL, PATRICIA ARQUETTE, DAN LEVY, JABOUKIE YOUNG-WHITE, PEPPERMINT, AND NINA WEST SPEAK OUT AGAINST BULLYING AND STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH LGBTQ YOUTH IN SPIRIT DAY VIDEOS

Mathew Lasky
Director of Communications, GLAAD
mlasky@glaad.org

GLAAD celebrates National Coming Out Day by sending celebrity messages of love, support, and solidarity to LGBTQ youth

Presenting partners Pantene and Target, official partners Kellogg’s and the NBA and the WNBA, and community partners Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, Kirkland & Ellis, and Wells Fargo will all participate in 2019 Spirit Day

New York, NY, Friday, October 11, 2019 – Today, GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, celebrates National Coming Out Day with messages of love, support, and solidarity from LGBTQ celebrities and allies.

Aligned with Spirit Day on October 17, celebrities Angelica Ross, Jameela Jamil, Adam Rippon, Karamo Brown, Paula Abdul, Patricia Arquette, Dan Levy, Jaboukie Young-White, Peppermint, and Nina West spoke to GLAAD about the harmful effects of bullying and sent inspirational advice to LGBTQ youth. Check out the videos below:

Angelica Ross: https://youtu.be/fs-V213aGRo

Jameela Jamil: https://youtu.be/rkKI2WduKnc

Adam Rippon: https://youtu.be/Oqp–teSrOA

Karamo Brown: https://youtu.be/R1oTt6lvD2c

Paula Abdul: https://youtu.be/VW32ekLOnJc

Patricia Arquette: https://youtu.be/A_sKrMmqa14

Dan Levy: https://youtu.be/BOqSWKLjXUw

Jaboukie Young-White: https://youtu.be/Ql39LR-KFDE

Peppermint: https://youtu.be/ILoE2Fbfyfg

Nina West: https://youtu.be/awTHn__sl88

On Spirit Day – the world’s largest and most visible LGBTQ anti-bullying campaign – millions of people around the world will wear purple or go purple online in a unified stand against bullying and to show support for LGBTQ youth. Purple symbolizes ‘spirit’ on the rainbow flag. Each year, Spirit Day draws the participation of celebrities, corporations, media outlets, sports leagues, schools, faith institutions, national landmarks, and individuals.

This year, presenting partners Pantene and Target, official partners Kellogg’s and the NBA & WNBA, as well as community partners Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, Kirkland & Ellis, and Wells Fargo will all participate in the anti-bullying campaign.

GLAAD previously announced that Grammy-award winning artist and longtime LGBTQ ally Kacey Musgraves will be honoring Spirit Day by donating two VIP seats to GLAAD to either of her sold-out concerts at Radio City Music Hall in NYC on October 15 or October 16. By making a donation to GLAAD’s work with LGBTQ youth, fans can win two VIP tickets to Kacey’s concert and a chance to meet her backstage. For more information about the contest, please visit www.glaad.org/kaceymusgravessweeps.

GLAAD also previously announced the release of a new LGBTQ-inclusive children’s book titled, Spirit Day: A Book About Spreading Joy. In partnership with Little Bee Books, Spirit Day: A Book About Spreading Joy is the sixth book to be released in an ongoing series of LGBTQ-inclusive children’s books. Illustrated by Joy Yang, Spirit Day: A Book About Spreading Joy is a beautiful, bold board book that teaches children about Spirit Day and its mission to stop bullying. As of September 3, Spirit Day: A Book About Spreading Joy can be purchased on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at various in-store locations.

“From the world’s biggest stars and athletes to local classrooms and pastors, Spirit Day has become a megaphone for allies to send a unified message of acceptance and support to LGBTQ youth each year,” says Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “In today’s divisive culture and political climate, LGBTQ people and allies need to be louder than ever to outshine bullies and tell young people that they will always be supported just as they are.”

Previous Spirit Day participants include the Obama White House, the Empire State Building, Oprah Winfrey, Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres, Cher, Kerry Washington, Laverne Cox, Shaquille O’Neal, Jimmy Kimmel, Alyssa Milano, Bebe Rexha, Mj Rodriguez, Yara Shahidi, Troye Sivan, Good Morning America, The Today Show, The View, The Talk, The Tonight Show, the NBA, all Major League Baseball teams, NASCAR, WWE, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, tumblr, the Las Vegas Strip, and more.

In 2018, #SpiritDay sparked over 150 unique press stories, 100k+ unique social mentions across platforms, and earned over 1.6 billion social media impressions.

Coinciding with National Bullying Prevention Month, Spirit Day began in 2010 when then high school student Brittany McMillan created a Tumblr post asking students to wear purple following the suicide deaths of several LGBTQ and LGBTQ-perceived young people.

According to GLSEN’s most recent National School Climate Survey, 70.1% of LGBTQ students report being verbally harassed. Additionally, 59.5% of LGBTQ students feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and 44.6% because of their gender expression. GLSEN also reported that 87.3% of LGBTQ students experienced harassment or assault based on personal characteristics, including sexual orientation, gender expression, gender, religion, actual or perceived race and ethnicity, and actual or perceived disability.

For more information on Spirit Day, visit /spiritday.

About Little Bee Books:

Little Bee Books is a children’s book publisher dedicated to making high-quality, creative, and fun books for busy little bees ages 0 through 12, offering an inspired selection of early learning concept books, board books, novelty books, activity books, picture books, chapter books, nonfiction, gift sets, and more. For more information, please visit littlebeebooks.com