GLAAD Leads Millions In United Stand Against Bullying For Spirit Day

GLAAD, the world’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy organization, today showcased the participants for Spirit Day 2015. Each year, GLAAD organizes hundreds of celebrities, media outlets, brands, landmarks, sports leagues, faith groups, school districts, colleges, and universities to go purple in a united stand against bullying and to show their support for LGBT youth.

The White House, Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and myriad governors, U.S. Representatives, U.S. Senators, and Mayors were among those who celebrated the world’s largest initiative to stop LGBT bullying. Additionally President Obama’s Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett hosted a Tumblr Q&A on Spirit Day.

Pop superstar Britney Spears hosted a special Spirit Day concert at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas, where two lucky Spirit Day supporters were invited to a private meet-and-greet with Spears.

Hashtag #SpiritDay trended throughout the day on Twitter, and Snapchat unveiled a special Spirit Day filter that allows users to ‘go purple’ in support of LGBT youth.

Additional celebrity participants for Spirit Day 2015 include Demi Lovato, Kim Kardashian West, Caitlyn Jenner, Marcia Gay Harden, LeAnn Rimes, Tea Leoni, Candis Cayne, Naomi Campbell, Patricia Arquette, Jazz Jennings, Ellen DeGeneres, Ellen Page, Ashley Benson, Katie Couric, Paula Abdul, Laverne Cox, Lucy Hale, Debra Messing, Matt Bomer, Jane Lynch, Tatiana Maslany, Troye Sivan, Lea DeLaria, Lisa Vanderpump, and more. Bravo celebrities Andy Cohen, the ladies of the Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce, and Million Dollar Listing New York agents Luis D. Ortiz and Ryan Serhant put together a Spirit Day video to show their support for LGBT youth.

Hosts of NBC’s “Today Show” and Comcast NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations across the nation wore purple on air for Spirit Day. Other participating properties include CNBC, MSNBC, USA, E!, Oxygen, Sprout, NBC Universo, Telemundo, NBC Sports, Comcast SportsNet, and Syfy. Comcast NBCUniversal employees participated internationally and celebrated with #ComcastGoesPurple and #prideNBCU on social media. Both companies provided photo booths at business locations supported by OUT@Comcast and OUT@NBCUniversal — the company’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender & straight ally employee resource group and turned their internal intranets purple as well.

Hosts of CBS’ “CBS This Morning,” ABC’s “Good Morning America, and “Elvis Duran and the Morning Show” also wore purple and spoke about the importance of Spirit Day.

ABC Family, Comedy Central, HBO, HLN, Logo, Showtime, Spike, MTV, TV Land, VH1, and iHeart Radio are among the other broadcast networks participating.

Sports organizations participating include the NBA, NFL, WNBA, WWE, MLB, Athlete Ally, GO! Athletes, OutSports, Trans*Athlete, and You Can Play Project.

GLAAD CEO & President Sarah Kate Ellis and GLAAD’s staff will also be ringing the closing bell at the Nasdaq in celebration of Spirit Day. Nasdaq will also feature a special Spirit Day animation on its Times Square jumbotron. Other Times Square properties participating with Spirit Day animations include American Eagle Outfitters and Thomson Reuters.

Support for #SpiritDay among Spanish-Language media celebrities included Rodriguez of Univision’s Aquí y Ahora, singer Lila Downs, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Participating programs included Un Nuevo Día on Telemundo, Despierta América on Univision and more.

People en Español is participating along with national Latino organization National Council of La Raza.

Other confirmed Spanish-language media participants include Kate del Castillo, Maria Elena Salinas, co-anchor of the Univision evening news, along with Ilia Calderón; Satcha Pretto, Pamela Silva Conde, Enrique Acevedo, Arantxa Loizaga, Roger Borges, Natalia Cruz, Raul De Molina, Lili Estefan, Alejandro Chaban, Maity Interiano, Enrique Santos, Jencarlos Canela, Patricia Velásquez, Ileanna Simancas; Daniel Ron, Liza Echeverría, Jencarlos Canela, Francisco Pizaña , Jason Canela , Zuleyka Rivera, Camilo Yepes, Mia Pineda, Tiago Correa, Zuria Vega, Natasha Dupeyrón, and Carmen Villalobos.

Additional participating companies include Coach, the Coca-Cola Company, DigitasLBi, Duane Morris LLP, Fetch, Interlude Press, J. Walter Thompson, Johnson & Johnson, Maytag, MWW Group, LLC, Nielsen, Optimedia, Publicis Groupe Egalite, Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles, Sony Playstation, Squire Patton Boggs LLP, United Airlines, and YouTube.

Organizations participating include Planned Parenthood, Trevor Project, The 4-H Club, HRC, NOH8, Equality Florida, Milwaukee Pride, The Tyler Clementi Foundation, Lambda Legal, PFLAG, Aid for AIDS of Nevada, The Advocacy Project, Change.org, All Out, The Ally Coalition, The BiCast, BiNetUSA, Bisexual Resource Center, Bisexual Organizing Project, Bisi Alimi Foundation, Boston GLASS, Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, Br{ache the Silence, Brinst, Brooklyn Community Pride Center, Bystander Revolution, Capital City Alliance, Caracole, The Caribbean Equality Project, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies Mpowerment, Center for Reconciliation and Attitude Change, CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers, China Rainbow, Comunidad Homosexual de Esperanza para la Region Loreto – CHERL, Concho Valley Rape Crisis Center, Drama For Life, Equality Florida, Equality Matters, Feather of Hope, The Feminist Press, Freedom to Marry, Freedom For All Americans, Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), GLIFAA, GLSEN Greater Dayton, I’m From Driftwood, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Saathi, The Initiative for Equal Rights, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Kaleidoscope Youth Center, Latino Equality Alliance, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Community Center, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Pinoy Inc., LGBT Community Center of the Desert, The LGBT Health Resource Center of Chase Brexton Health Care, Log Cabin Republicans of Wisconsin, Love is Louder, MassEquality, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality, National Council of Jewish Women, National LGBTQ Task Force, National Women’s Coalition Against Violence & Exploitation (NWCAVE), NCLR, Netroots Connect, One Colorado, OutServe-SDLN, PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, PFLAG National, Percolate Galactic, Personal Stories Project, Quezon City Pride Council, REVASA, Salseros – LA, Salt Lake County Youth Services, Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), SHIFT NC – Sexual Health Initiatives for Teens, Stonewall Columbus, Stonewall Community Foundation, Tampa Pride, Tennessee Equality Project, Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, Transgender Law Center, Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, Triangle Community Center, The True Colors Fund, The Village Family Services, WATER: Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual, We Are Family, The Welcoming Committee, and Youth First Resource Center.

Faith-based organizations participating include United Church of Christ, Metropolitan Community Church, DignityUSA, Religious Institute, SOJOURN: Southern Jewish Resource Network, Imaan – LGBTQI Muslim Support Group, Auburn Seminary, ReconcilingWorks, and Trans Faith.

For a full list of partners visit glaad.org/spiritday/participants.

According to GLSEN’s 2013 National School Climate Survey, 85% of LGBT students report they have been verbally harassed with 65% percent reporting that they have heard homophobic remarks frequently or often in school.

GLSEN also reported that 30% of students missed at least one day of school in a given month because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable in their school environment.

Spirit Day is made possible by the generous support of its presenting partners Target and Wells Fargo, as well as official partners Dow Chemical, Facebook, Google, NBA, NFL, WNBA, and WWE, and supporting partners American Eagle Outfitters, Barilla, Chobani, Comcast NBCUniversal, Kirkland & Ellis, and Toyota Financial Services.

For more information, visit GLAAD’s Spirit Day resource page, download the “Go Purple for Spirit Day” app, and take the Spirit Day Pledge.