In 2012, Shane Bitney Crone posted a video on YouTube titled "IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU" about the harms of marriage inequality after the tragic death of his partner, Tom. The video, posted in the anniversary of Tom's death after a year of documenting his own grief, went viral on YouTube, receiving over 2 million views within a week. It has since received over 3.6 millions views and has been translated into over 20 different languages. GLAAD has worked closely with Shane since his tribute to Tom went viral.
The impact of Shane's YouTube video inspired him to create a documentary film about his tragic story. With support from those who were touched by the video, including George Takei and Neil Patrick Harris, Bridegroom was successfully funded in July 2012 by over 6,500 people on Kickstarter.
Bridegroom premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 23, where it was introduced by President Bill Clinton, who was presented with with the Advocate for Change Award last week at the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles. "I want to keep working on this until not only DOMA is no longer the law of the land, but until all people, no matter where they live, can marry the people they love," said President Clinton. "I believe you will win the DOMA fight, and I think you will win the Constitutional right to marry. If not tomorrow, then the next day or the next day."
"BRIDEGROOM is a documentary directed by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that tells the emotional journey of Shane and Tom, two young men in a loving and committed relationship — a relationship that was cut tragically short by a misstep off the side of a roof. The story of what happened after this accidental death– of how people without the legal protections of marriage can find themselves completely shut out and ostracized– is poignant, enraging and opens a window onto the issue of marriage equality like no speech or lecture ever will." Learn more about the documentary here.