GLAAD ANNOUNCES #SPIRITDAY 2024

GLAAD #SPIRITDAY 2024 KICKS OFF WITH ‘A NIGHT OF BROADWAY’ #SPIRITDAY GALA HOSTED BY FRANKIE GRANDE IN NEW YORK CITY

GLAAD TO RING NASDAQ STOCK MARKET OPENING BELL LIVE IN TIMES SQUARE OCTOBER 17 FOR #SPIRITDAY IN UNITED STAND AGAINST BULLYING ALONGSIDE LGBTQ COMMUNITY AND THOUGHT LEADERS SUPPORTING LGBTQ YOUTH

JEOPARDY! CHAMPION AMY SCHNEIDER, BILLY EICHNER, THE BLESSED MADONNA, CHRIS MOSIER, KATHY HILTON, LIZA COLON-ZAYAS, LOREN ALLRED, MARCIA GAY HARDEN, MARGARET CHO, MEGAN HILTY, PAUL FEIG, STERLING K. BROWN, TY HERNDON, VINCINT AND MORE TO JOIN IN UNITED STAND AGAINST BULLYING  

CBS, CNBC, CLEVELAND’S TERMINAL TOWER, IHEARTMEDIA, THE NBA, THE NFL AND THE NFL NETWORK, THE VIEW, THE WNBA, EVERYLIBRARY, AND MORE TO TAKE PART IN #SPIRITDAY ORGANIZED BY GLAAD ON OCTOBER 17

New York, NY, Tuesday, October 15, 2024 – Today, GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, announced programming and participants of its annual united stand against bullying and show of support for LGBTQ youth: #SpiritDay. Since the inaugural #SpiritDay in 2010, GLAAD has organized hundreds of celebrities, media outlets, brands, landmarks, sports leagues, faith groups, school districts, organizations, colleges and universities in what has become the most visible anti-LGBTQ bullying campaign and united show of support for LGBTQ youth by going purple.

Purple also symbolizes spirit on the LGBTQ Pride flag.

For more, visit glaad.org/spiritday and follow #SpiritDay on social media.

FRANKIE GRANDE’S #SPIRITDAY GALA:

Actor, performer, activist and member of GLAAD’s Board of Directors, Frankie Grande, curated and hosted “A Night of Broadway (but make it Queer!)” #SpiritDay Gala, presented by McDonald’s, gathered some of Broadway’s brightest stars to shine a light on LGBTQ youth and take a stand against bullying. The live music event took place at The Box in New York City and included performances by Tony Award nominee Orfeh, Tony Award nominee Lilli Cooper, Salina Estitties (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Antwayn Hopper (Cats: The Jellicle Ball, A Strange Loop), Emma Hunton (Freeform’s Good Trouble, Wicked), Troy Iwata (The Daily Show), rapper Jade Jones, Courtney Reed (Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Broadway’s Aladdin), Nina West (RuPaul’s Drag Race), the cast of Bucks County Playhouse’s The Rocky Horror Story. The “A Night of Broadway” #SpiritDay Gala featurette and accompanying social video vignettes debut all week on GLAAD’s YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, leading up to #SpiritDay on October 17th.

Photos from the event HERE, courtesy GETTY Images for GLAAD.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE 2024 #SPIRITDAY RESOURCE KIT

CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION:

On Thursday morning, October 17th, GLAAD President & CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, with GLAAD’s staff, members of its Board of Directors, alongside LGBTQ movement leaders focused on supporting LGBTQ youth, will ring the Nasdaq Stock Market Opening Bell in Times Square in celebration of #SpiritDay. A live stream of the Nasdaq Opening Bell will be available HERE and feed information is available upon request.

CNBC will be participating in #SpiritDay, turning its logo both on broadcast and across digital purple, with on-air talent around the U.S., Europe and Asia wearing purple in support of LGBTQ youth.

iHeartMedia will support #SpiritDay for an eighth year by running national PSA spots across its radio network leading up to #SpiritDay and featuring social and editorial online coverage.

Other national news networks, shows, outlets and distributors confirmed to participate in #SpiritDay this year will include: Access Hollywood, Access Daily, CBS, “Despierta América” (TelevisaUnivision), E! News, “Hoy Día” (Telemundo), “FBI: Most Wanted,” iHeartMedia, NBC5 Dallas-Fort Worth, OUT@NBC, PRIDE ABC News, “Primer Impacto” (TelevisaUnivision), “The View,” among others will join in celebrating #SpiritDay 2024.

Celebrities and creators including, Amy Schneider, Billy Eichner, The Blessed Madonna, Bryan Ruby, Chris Housman, Chris Mosier, Corey O’Brien, Forest Claudette, Francesca Noel, Julie Williams, Kathy Hilton, Katie Kadan, Liza Colon-Zayas, Loren Allred, Luxx Noir London, Marcia Gay Harden, Malika Andrews, Margaret Cho, Marisa Bode, Marlilu Henner, Megan Hilty, Paolo Presta, Paul Feig, Rebecca Zamolo, Rett, Madison, Roxy Sternberg, Sophia Scott, Sterling K. Brown, Tramell Tillman, Ty Herndon, VINCINT, Xunami Muse, among others will participate in #SpiritDay 2024.

Faith leaders, global organizations and nonprofits including, Interfaith Alliance, Communion Play, ELCA – Southeastern Synod, The Naming Project, Yass, Jesus! Wartburg Theological Seminary among others will participate in #SpiritDay 2024.

Landmarks including The Terminal Tower in Cleveland, Cleveland’s Signature Skyscraper, The Bank of America Plaza in Dallas, and the Nasdaq Marketsite Times Square, among others will go purple for #SpiritDay 2024 in support of LGBTQ youth.

Additionally, the Kansas City, Missouri City Skyline will be lit purple Thursday evening for Spirit Day. From City Hall to the Historic Kansas City Power and Light Building to Kansas City’s very own Union Station, all of Kansas City’s downtown historic buildings will light the night sky purple to stand in solidarity with LGBTQ youth across the region and country on #SpiritDay.

#SpiritDay Community Sponsors this year include: Hyundai, Kirkland & Ellis, the NFL, the NBA, the WNBA, the New York City Department Education, the New York City Council. This year’s “A Night of Broadway,” #SpiritDay Gala hosted by Frankie Grande at The Box in New City was presented by McDonald’s.

Previous #SpiritDay participants include the Obama White House, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the Empire State Building, Oprah Winfrey, Sec. Hillary Clinton, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Kerry Washington, Halle Berry, Laverne Cox, Celine Dion, Shaquille O’Neal, Sam Smith, Jimmy Kimmel, Troye Sivan, Good Morning America, The TODAY Show, The View, The Talk, The Tonight Show, the NBA and WNBA, all Major League Baseball teams, NASCAR, WWE, Meta, the Las Vegas Strip, and many more.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE 2024 #SPIRITDAY RESOURCE KIT

About #SpiritDay

GLAAD organizes celebrities, media outlets, brands, landmarks, sports leagues, faith groups, school districts, organizations, colleges and universities in what has become the most visible anti-LGBTQ bullying campaign in the world. Purple symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag.

The annual tradition was started in 2010 by GLAAD and then high school student Brittany McMillan, in memory of the LGBTQ youth who died by suicide. McMillan encouraged her friends to wear purple on a day in October — a day that came to be known as #SpiritDay.

Today, LGBTQ youth, and especially trans and nonbinary youth, are experiencing a level of scrutiny in schools we have never seen, leading to an environment rife with stressors beyond the peer-to-peer bullying of the past. From book bans, to bans on trans youth in sports, to bathroom restrictions and teachers barred from using correct pronouns, the means by which a student can express themselves and see others like them are increasingly being challenged.

GLAAD’s 2024 Social Media Safety Index illuminates the epidemic of anti-LGBTQ hate, harassment, and disinformation across major social media platforms, and especially made note of high-follower hate accounts and right-wing figures who continue to manufacture and circulate most of this activity. This anti-LGBTQ rhetoric online manifests into real-life harm and has been cited as drivers of many of the more than 600 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in states around the country this year alone, many of which target transgender people and LGBTQ youth.

Last year, GLAAD’s #SpiritDay Index survey found:

• 95% of non-LGBTQ adults say schools should be a safe and accepting place for all youth
• 95% of non-LGBTQ adults say parent’s should support and love their child(ren) exactly as they are
• 93% of non-LGBTQ adults say I believe children should be taught to appreciate and accept people as they are
• 88% of non-LGBTQ adults say youth should be provided access to the factual information they need to make decisions that are right for them

Additional GLAAD research including our analysis on LGBTQ representation in TV, Film, Gaming and more can be found at GLAAD.org/Publications.

Take the #SpiritDay Pledge to show LGBTQ youth you’ve got their backs at glaad.org/spiritday.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE 2024 #SPIRITDAY RESOURCE KIT