LOGO Airs Celebrity PSA Response to Lawrence King Murder
Janet Jackson, along with Calpernia Addams (Transamerican Love Story), Andre 3000, Ashanti, singer/songwriter Sarah Bareilles, Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development, Nip/Tuck), Estelle, T.R. Knight (Grey’s Anatomy), R&B artist Little Sister, actor Darryl Stephens (Noah’s Arc) and singer/songwriter Taylor Swift have lent their faces and names to a PSA created in response to the murder of Lawrence King that will run on LOGO and across MTV Networks' channels as well as on other networks that wish to air it.
Said MTV President Brian Graden: "One more murder, one more life lost, one more attempt to provoke fear and one more reason hate crimes must end. We hope this PSA will help inspire more people to join the fight against hate crimes."
View the clip AFTER THE JUMP...
Over the weekend, the L.A. Times continued its coverage of the King murder, revealing the broken home behind King's 14-year-old killer Brandon McInerney as well as the troubled school atmosphere that led up to the unthinkable violence:
"Earlier this year, some of Brandon's classmates say, Larry began 'hitting' on him and remarking for all to hear that he thought Brandon was 'cute.' Other boys then ribbed Brandon by saying he must be gay himself. Brandon dismissed Larry with an obscenity, the students say, but it didn't stop there. They say the kid wearing eye shadow had gotten under the skin of the Young Marine. Michael Sweeney, an eighth-grader at E.O. Green, picked up on the whispering that followed -- the rumors that were so extreme, so out there, that they had to be bogus. 'Brandon told this one girl that he was going to kill Larry,' Michael said. 'She didn't tell the principal. I didn't, either, after I heard about it. I thought it was a joke.' Larry was shot the next day."
View the LOGO PSA after the jump...
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Posted by: slacker chic | Mar 10, 2008 1:04:30 PM
The PSA should be greatly appreciated by many in Gay commnunities all over the world. When Andy first presented this sad event on this blog, I was praising Larry's family--thinking they accepted him. Another poster commented that Larry was living in a shelter. I realized then just how alone Larry was. When you're 15 you can't understand why people would hate you for being yourself. Teenage gay people (especially transgendered gay teens) face extreme violence every day, sometimes inside their homes. The only time they get relief is when they are around other gay youth--but even then, sometimes it's difficult. But atleast you're not around beasts who threaten to kill you because of the way you look, walk, talk. The threat of being killed because of who and what you are--that's what young folk like Larry face everyday.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Mar 10, 2008 1:24:41 PM
I would love to see some straight males on these PSA's.
Let's face it, THEY are the ones most likely to commit anti-gay hate crimes and they are ones who most need to be reached. Having PSA's done by women and gay men will only preach to the choir unfortunately since an anti-gay male prone to violence isn't going to listen to them.
We need to see these PSA's done by professional athletes, NASCAR drivers, nationally known fundamentalist pastors, rap/dance hall artists, politicians and other well known people that the general public would LEAST expect to stand up for gay people.
THESE are the people who are going to get through to the target audience. These are the ONLY people who are going to get through to the target audience.
Posted by: Zeke | Mar 10, 2008 1:26:22 PM
I second Zeke's comments. This type of PSA will not reach those who need to hear the message.
Posted by: RLS | Mar 10, 2008 1:45:41 PM
Fuck phony Super Gay Graden and his PSAs. As long as he's still putting blood money in his pockets from running MTV which continues to promote and make money off of performers who HAVE CALLED FOR GAYS TO BE SHOT this PSA means NOTHING!!!
MTV is still promoting and profiting [via ringtones, selling their CDs] from the antigay violence promoting performances of Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Elephant Man, Bounty Killer, TOK, and Capleton, et al.
E.g.: http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/beenie_man/artist.jhtml
"From Buju Banton's Boom Bye Bye, which threatened "batty boys" with "ah gunshot in ah head", to Beenie Man's "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays" to Babycham & Bounty Killer's "Bun a fire pon a kuh pon mister fagoty, Ears ah ben up and a wince under agony, Poop man fi drown a dat a yawd man philosophy" (Burn gay men, til they wince under agony, gay men should drown, that's the yard man's philosophy), the exhortations to kill and maim seem to know no bounds.” – Amnesty International
"Capleton’s hit tune “Whoa” has the line: “Sadomite and batty man mi shot up...Whoa” (Sodomite and queer man, I shoot up Whoa). His song “Bun Out Di Chi Chi” exhorts his audience to “Burn out a queer, Blood out a queer” (Blood out is Jamaican slang for “kill”). Another track is called “Give Har” which says “All boogaman and sodemites fi get killed” (All queers and sodomites should be killed). Batty Man, chi chi man and boogaman are derogatory Jamaican slang similar to faggot, poof and queer." - ILGA
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | Mar 10, 2008 1:50:28 PM
just a heads up, it's kid sister not little sister.
Posted by: rae | Mar 10, 2008 2:11:03 PM
Hey Zeke, Andre 3000 is a straight male and a rap artist.
Michael Bedwell, your idiocy continues to amaze. While there are numerous things to complain about MTV Networks ("Flavor of Love" anyone?), calling them anti-gay is beyond ridiculous. MTV has a long history of including gays in its programming, particularly its reality shows like "The Real World" and even its speed dating show "Next." I can personally attest that the portrayals of gay characters on MTV had a positive impact on my own coming out process.
If they are indeed selling music from Buju Banton, etc., then perhaps there's a more positive way to address that than your typical squealing. But of course, that's all you know how to do.
Posted by: crispy | Mar 10, 2008 2:21:35 PM
I have to agree with Crispy. MTV networks, for all their faults, have done more to present LGBT youth in a positive light than any network this side of LOGO.
Pedro Zamora humanized AIDS for more people than I can count; when I came out in the mid 90's, I know some of my friends in Indiana were more immediately accepting because of the gay and lesbian cast members of early editions of the Real World.
I'm sure that no major corporation is without sin, but seriously, MTV has been more of an ally than almost any other mainstream media conglomerate you'll find.
Posted by: Dan E | Mar 10, 2008 2:29:27 PM
I've been reading the Internets about Lawrence King and have a whole new outlook on the situation now that I know...
"...homosexual activists, who have made Lawrence a pawn in their quest for a federal bill to silence any criticism of the gay lifestyle..."
http://www.centerformoralclarity.net/Articles.aspx?page=2008022804
"Homosexual activists have seized on Lawrence King case."
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/viewstory.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200802/NAT20080215d.html
"It's outrageous that our neighborhood schools would grant homosexual activists access to our children with the objective of coercing students to repudiate traditional morality. It's time for Christian parents to draw the line and take their children out of school for the day." "This year, GLSEN adds a special twist: shameless exploitation of the recent tragic school shooting death of California 8th grade student Lawrence King."
http://www.catholiccitizens.org/press/contentview.asp?c=45196
"When Hate Leads to Murder: The Politicalization of Hate Crimes and the Gay Agenda"
http://jimphelan.vox.com/library/post/when-hate-leads-to-murder-the-politicalization-of-hate-crimes-and-the-gay-agenda.html
Posted by: John In Manhattan | Mar 10, 2008 2:31:28 PM
Don't put words or anything else in my mouth Crispy Critter. I never said they were antigay, I said they care more about making money than they do gay rights or safety. They have "artist pages," make money off of most of the performers I've listed who have called for kids like Lawrence King to be murdered. The ONLY reason they disinvited Beenie Man from performing at their 2004 MTV Video awards in Miami was because gays there who understand ya can't have it both ways, girlfriends, protested.
Pedro Zamora was magnificent, a true hero for us—I've given copies of roommate/friend Judd Winick's book about him to gay youth groups. But Pedro didn't suffer fools or phonies when it came to homophobia so I trust he would have said the same thing that GLAAD did about MTV's promotion of Eminem: it is WRONG to promote performers who call for the shooting, hanging, drowning, burning of gays at the same time you take bows for saying don't do any of that.
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | Mar 10, 2008 2:53:32 PM
Oh please, Bedwell. Sell your crazy bullshit somewhere else. The tone of your post practically screamed "MTV IS ANTI-GAY!"
Or are you so fucking stupid, you don't realize how caustic the tone of all your comments comes across?
Posted by: crispy | Mar 10, 2008 3:15:32 PM
They should be on LOGO too, though. We can't just assume that everyone in the queer community knows this happened, or that everyone who knows this happened knows that our community has any real support and action going on around it.
Posted by: oakling | Mar 10, 2008 4:31:19 PM
omg!! i wish that one day, when someone does a good, heartfelt, and well meant thing...like a psa, a march, a telethon, or whatever, that people could just applaud it, say thank you, feel good that someone, somewhere is taking the violence and hatred against gay people seriously, and not spend so much time picking it apart, debating it, and worse of all arguing about it.
all the unnecessary drama, and pontification makes what happen to larry king, and all the others that have been bashed or killed, even sadder.
Posted by: candipearl | Mar 10, 2008 4:46:18 PM
Hey CRISPY, when I said "SOME" straight males I meant the word to mean "a few", "more than one". I meant the word to mean what it actually means.
CANDIPEARL, I do applaud it. I do support it. I am enormously greatful to those who wrote, produced, starred in and aired it. Forgive me for having the audacity to point out that it is unlikely to reach the audience that most needs to hear it.
By the way, at this point it's only airing on LOGO (the gay channel). I wonder how many potential gay bashers watch LOGO regularly.
I guess I'm being an ass for pointing that out too.
Hopefully MTV and other Viacom channels will air the PSA and hopefully even more cable channels will air it. I still think it will only be affective if straight men from uber masculine sports, etc. deliver the message. I think it's a shame that that's the case but my opinion doesn't change reality.
Posted by: Zeke | Mar 10, 2008 5:20:59 PM
Zeke, my comment was not meant for you, or any one person, but for the whole nasty toned back and forth that goes on within the comment section as a whole. Also, if you read under the pic of Larry and Janet Jackson, it states that it will NOT only been seen on LOGO, but on all MTV's network channels...so, will it be shown on the 700 Club, ESPN, or on the major networks? sadly, no but just like many other anti-hate and gay friendly psa's that MTV has aired over the years, it will been seen by a lot of people....now, whether they listen, and heed it, is a whole other issue.
Posted by: candipearl | Mar 10, 2008 5:59:52 PM
Well, the one thing I am a little disappointed about is that the PSA will run on LOGO and not on a national network where it needs to be seen. this is such a tragedy i can't imagine anyone seeing this won't look at it and stand up and say, Enough is enough! These are not teenagers or young adults, this happened to a child, at school...I can't imagine anyone wouldn't look at this and think this kind of violence has to stop.
I have to agree with Obama that there are a lot of Christians who act very anti-Christian.
As far as the whole particpation factor...straight men don't have the balls. The only one that did, was Jake Gyllenhall and Heath Ledger when they agree to play gay cowboys in Brokeback mountain.
Posted by: Paul | Mar 10, 2008 6:23:33 PM
ZEKE I don't think this clip will affect any gay bashers at all, no matter where it plays. I think the people who will be touched are those like us, who have witnessed it first hand, and the support circle of bashers and their victims who will perhaps have a ripple effect.
Michael Bedwell, as has been posted here and many times over anytime you make a comment, anything of substance you might say is totally discredited by your rants and hate that are in there as well. You have major anger issues sir, get thee to therapy.
Posted by: patrick nyc | Mar 10, 2008 7:20:56 PM
Andre 3000 = straight hip hop artist (Outkast)
Posted by: jojo | Mar 10, 2008 10:02:13 PM
This PSA has confused me regarding Lawrence's identity and circumstances.
Ellen has said that Lawrence was attacked because he had asked the other boy to be his Valentine.
This PSA states that he was attacked because he was wearing makeup and dresses. If that is the case, then it would make me wonder whether the kid was actually transgendered instead of gay. It would be a big embarrassment to the makers of this PSA if they had actually gotten Larry confused with the case of the MTF transgendered older teen who was attacked around the same time.
Does anyone know the real story here?
Posted by: GregV | Mar 10, 2008 10:37:21 PM
This PSA has confused me regarding Lawrence's identity and circumstances.
Ellen has said that Lawrence was attacked because he had asked the other boy to be his Valentine.
This PSA states that he was attacked because he was wearing makeup and dresses. If that is the case, then it would make me wonder whether the kid was actually transgendered instead of gay. It would be a big embarrassment to the makers of this PSA if they had actually gotten Larry confused with the case of the MTF transgendered older teen who was attacked around the same time.
Does anyone know the real story here?
Posted by: GregV | Mar 10, 2008 10:38:22 PM
GREGV, he did ask the boy to be his valentine however before that he was made fun of for the way he was.
Posted by: Blue | Mar 11, 2008 1:30:28 PM
Stop
Patrick NYC
you’re
breaking
my
heart
Sorry
to
spoil
teatime
at
Pollyanna’s
Home
for
Pansies.
Get
thee
some
balls.
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | Mar 11, 2008 2:31:51 PM
I can't help but notice that people are so much more stirred up when it's an innocent looking person that is bashed or killed.
People don't seem to care in the same proportion when men who are not as appealing are killed, even from the gay community itself. What about Billy Jack Gaither and men like him does anyone remember how he was murdered? This is a terrible situation but no one seems to care nearly as much about those of us who are not as physically appealing. Are our memories only capable of remembering 2 weeks worth of information or whether a victim was a cute kid?
Posted by: Jp | Mar 11, 2008 10:12:43 PM
I know Im late in this conversation but I just heard about poor lawrence on facebook. It was mentioned that lawrence was living in agroup home and receiving advice from a gay lesbian support group. Has any one considered investigating that group for the corrupt influence of a minor? Iknow you all probably think that homosexual kids should learn to love themselves for who they are but hat should include encouraging them to flirt with known antagonistic bullying kids! You should, in the intersts of safety, be advising the kids against coming out until they are fully mature adults. even though no one would expect murder as a reaction, I would think you at least could recognize that lawrence was flirting with danger and that at worst he could have been severly beaten. I think the support group overstepped its bounds and placed young lawrence in a precarious if not fatally dangerous position. Gay rights is a movement for fully grown adults and schools should not be used as a social petrie dish.
Posted by: TJ | Jul 8, 2008 10:18:01 AM