GLAAD today officially launched a new public service announcement campaign helmed by director Brett Ratner. The GLAAD 'Coming Out for Equality' PSA series features a diverse group of straight celebrities and athletes "coming out of the closet" as supporters of equality and calling for other Americans to speak out. Visit glaad.org/ally to join the #AllyNetwork and take action for LGBT equality, watch featured PSAs, and find resources to help make your community a safe and supportive space.
Ratner directed and produced the PSA series, donating his time to raise support for LGBT people. Participants include Jackie Chan, Tamala Jones (Castle), Giada De Laurentiis (Food Network), DeRay Davis (21 Jump Street), Hudson Taylor, Jaime King (Hart of Dixie), Jason Alexander (Seinfeld), Kristen Johnston (The Exes), Sarah Shahi (The L Word), and Pauley Perrette (NCIS). Additional participants and videos will be released later this month. The PSAs were produced by Kali Londono.
Check out Jackie Chan coming out of the closet as an ally of equality below:
Comcast and NBCUniversal will serve as a leading media partner for the PSA campaign, contributing $1.5 million in national airtime on its Xfinity TV cable systems and bringing this important message to more than 20 million homes over the next year.
"Our straight allies are essential participants on the road to full acceptance of the LGBT community," said GLAAD's Wilson Cruz. "From athletes to faith leaders to elected officials across the political spectrum, straight Americans are speaking out for equality at a rapid rate and we hope more across the nation will be inspired to take action in support of LGBT people."
“We are proud to partner with GLAAD to help share this message of acceptance and equality,” said Charisse R. Lillie, Vice President, Community Investment, Comcast Corporation and President of the Comcast Foundation. “Our support of diverse communities is a cornerstone of our culture and we are pleased to be able to provide this valuable air-time to promote this important message.”
Earlier this year, Ratner received the Ally Award at the GLAAD Media Awards in New York City. In 2012, Ratner and director Tom Ford partnered with the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), the Ad Council and Talenthouse on a PSA that addressed the prevalent use of anti-gay language among teens as part of GLSEN's "Think Before You Speak" PSA campaign.
GLAAD would like to thank the following for their contributions in producing the PSAs: Slate PR, CAA, HBO, Blue Collar Productions, Mad Dog Video, Global Cuisine, Linoleum City, SmashBox Digital, The Lot, Company 3, Jingle Punks, PC Prompting Systems, David John, Marlena Robbins, Tobias Schliessler, Ida Random, Peggy Eghbalian, Gabriel J. Saavedra, Jamie Freitag, David Lee Thomason, Shelby Adair, Kasia Nabialczyk, David Gorder, and Josh DiMarcantonio.