Bullying is wrong! It is unacceptable behaviour that makes the person being bullied feel afraid or uncomfortable. There are many ways that young people bully each other, even if they don’t realize it at the time. Many have a good idea of what bullying is because they see it every day! Bullying happens when someone hurts or scares another person on purpose and the person being bullied has a hard time defending themselves. So, everyone needs to get involved to help stop it.
The Observer: Shepard said she wants to promote acceptance rather than just tolerance of diversity. "It's just not that hard," she said. "This is about humanity and being kind. You tolerate bad hair — you don't tolerate people. You accept them." In order to promote the end of hate crimes against the gay community and minorities in general, Shepard said everyone must work to remedy this issue by speaking with state representatives and voting. She said it is not a matter of liking gay people or not. Rather, it is a matter of respecting people for who they are and affording them the civil rights they deserve, especially the right to marriage. "You don't like gay people getting married? You don't like gay weddings? Then don't have one," Shepard said. "I'm not asking you to become their new best friend, I am asking you to grant them equal rights." Overall, Shepard said the problem of hate could be changed through education and acceptance. "Educate, educate, educate," Shepard said. "Bring light where you see darkness, bring freedom where there is fear because you are who you are and you love who you love." (Shepard speaks against hate).
Judy Shepard (née Peck; born 1952) is the mother of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old student at University of Wyoming who was murdered for being homosexual. She and her husband are co-founders of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, and an advocate for LGBT-rights. On Monday, February 15, 2010; Heritage of Pride, the producers of the annual LGBT Pride March down 5th Avenue in New York City announced that Judy Shepard has been selected as a Grand Marshal for the March along with Lt. Dan Choi previously announced (Wikipedia).
Sports Illustrated: "...Phelps remains an ordinary kid suddenly leading an extraordinary life, and he works hard to maintain some balance. His agents always ensure that there is security on hand to help him navigate big public appearances, but otherwise Phelps likes to travel unencumbered; that morning he had taken a train up from Baltimore by himself, only partially disguised by a droopy, Spitzian mustache that he was overly proud of (and later would be crestfallen to have to shave off to look presentable for the awards show). Phelps sat undisturbed in a commuter car as he fiddled around on a laptop with a Wi-Fi card, and upon arriving in New York he made his way through Penn Station and flagged down a yellow cab on the street without a single autograph request, a 21st-century Mr. Smith arriving in his Washington, with iPod. "You can't stop living your life," he says..." (Sportsman of the Year: Michael Phelps)
Michael Fred Phelps (born June 30, 1985) is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008, becoming the most successful athlete at both of these Olympic Games editions. In doing so he has twice equaled the record eight medals of any type at a single Olympics achieved by Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin at the 1980 Moscow Summer Games. His five golds in individual events tied the single Games record set by Eric Heiden in the 1980 Winter Olympics and equaled by Vitaly Scherbo at the 1992 Summer Games. Phelps holds the record for the most gold medals won in a single Olympics, his eight at the 2008 Beijing Games surpassed American swimmer Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at Munich in 1972. Phelps' Olympic medal total is second only to the 18 Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina won over three Olympics, including nine gold. Furthermore, he holds the all-time record for most individual gold Olympic medals, at nine. Phelps's international titles and record breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award six times and American Swimmer of the Year Award eight times. He has won a total of fifty-nine medals in major international competition, fifty gold, seven silver, and two bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships. His unprecedented Olympic success in 2008 earned Phelps Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award. After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Phelps started the Michael Phelps Foundation, which focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles. As a participant in the US Anti-Doping Agency's "Project Believe" program, Phelps is regularly tested to ensure that his system is clean of performance-enhancing drugs (Wikipedia).
stuff: "...She spent most days at home writing, a friend told People magazine. Amy had been working on her eagerly anticipated third album, a follow up to 2006's Back to Black, recently. It was due to be released earlier this year, but that never transpired. It's understood Amy had told her record company she wanted to work on some of the lyrics as she felt they were too concerned with her ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil. Meanwhile, Cee Lo Green has spoken of his sadness following the star's passing. Despite rumours earlier this year claiming Amy and Cee Lo had recorded a track together, Cee Lo has revealed they never made it to the studio but they had been keen to collaborate. "We were discussing working together. We have a mutual friend, [producer] Salaam Remi. "There was a rumour that we had already recorded together. It wasn't true and I don't know where that came from. But we did grow fond of each other and thought we could work together," he told E! Online. "I could listen to her and she registered to me as the real thing ... It's so untimely and unfortunate. What a loss. Music has lost a daughter..." (Winehouse 'spent last days writing')
Reuters: "...Winehouse’s breakthrough “Back to Black” album, released in America in 2007, sold 37,000 copies for the sales period -- virtually all of that between Saturday morning, when her death was announced, and Sunday night, when the SoundScan sales week closed...Her numbers could be as big or bigger on next week’s chart, which will reflect a full week's worth of posthumous interest in the tragic star. Her far lesser known debut album, “Frank” -- which was only issued in America after “Back to Black” became a smash -- also reentered the chart, at No. 57, after selling 7,600 copies over the weekend. According to Nielsen SoundScan, more than 95 percent of Winehouse’s album sales were digital downloads, which is not surprising, given how most music retailers shy away from carrying catalog nowadays and might have had one CD, at most, in stock..." (Music Charts: Amy Winehouse's 'Back to Black' Back in Billboard's Top 10)
Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her 2006 follow-up album, Back to Black, led to six Grammy Award nominations and five wins, tying the then record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night, and made Winehouse the first British female to win five Grammys, including three of the "Big Four": Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. On 14 February 2007, she won a BRIT Award for Best British Female Artist; she had also been nominated for Best British Album. She won the Ivor Novello Award three times, one in 2004 for Best Contemporary Song (musically and lyrically) for "Stronger Than Me", one in 2007 for Best Contemporary Song for "Rehab", and one in 2008 for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for "Love Is a Losing Game", among other distinctions. The album was the third biggest seller of the 2000s in the United Kingdom. Winehouse is credited as an influence in the rise in popularity of female musicians and soul music, and also for revitalising British music. Winehouse's distinctive style made her a muse for fashion designers such as Karl Lagerfeld. Winehouse's problems with drug and alcohol abuse, violence, and her self-destructive behaviours were regular tabloid news from 2007 until her death. She and her former husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, were plagued by legal troubles that left him serving prison time. In 2008, Winehouse faced a series of health complications that threatened both her career and her life. Winehouse died at the age of 27 on 23 July 2011, at her home in London; police have said that the cause of her death is "as yet unexplained". Winehouse's family and friends attended her funeral on 26 July 2011. She was later cremated at Golders Green Crematorium (Wikipedia).
NY Times: While Mr. Quinto accepts the occasional fan ambush as part of the movie and television stardom package, he chooses to keep his distance from what he regards as mindless celebrity-gossip culture. “I’m grateful that celebrity or notoriety wasn’t thrust upon me when I was in my 20s, because I think I would have buckled under the weight of it, as so many people do,” he said. “But I’ve come to realize through experience that ultimately I really do have a lot of power in terms of the way I relate to the public or to people outside of my intimate circle of friends and family. Boundaries are very important to me.” Despite Mr. Quinto’s efforts to keep his private life private, the blogosphere is rife with speculation about his sexuality, no doubt fueled by his support for gay rights and organizations like the Trevor Project. He prefers not to feed that rumor mill with either substantiation or dismissal. He speaks passionately about gay marriage, about “don’t ask, don’t tell” and about the recent wave of gay bullying and suicides. “The fact that these things are such hot-button issues right now, socially and politically, I would much rather talk about that than talk about who I sleep with,” Mr. Quinto said. “I would love to be a voice in this maelstrom of chaos and obsessive celebrity infatuation that says, ‘Let’s talk about something that matters,’ ” he added (Career Zigzag, Changing Coasts And Galaxies).
Zachary John Quinto (born June 2, 1977) is an American actor primarily known for playing Sylar on Heroes and Spock in the 2009 film Star Trek. Quinto is an active supporter of gay rights, acting in a one-night production of "Standing on Ceremony" at the El Portal Theatre (in support of same-sex marriage), appearing at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center’s annual gala and acting in a production of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later. He has also posted a video in support of the It Gets Better Project on YouTube, on the beforethedoor account (Wikipedia).
Basic Info:Director: Charles Binamé; Writer: Teena Booth; Stars: Emily Osment, Kay Panabaker, Meaghan Rath, Kelly Rowan, Jon McLaren, Robert Naylor, Nastassia Markiewicz, Jade Hassouné, Caroline Redekopp, Ivan Smith, Ronda Louis-Jeune, John Maclaren, Marcel Jeannin, Bruce Dinsmore, Danny Blanco Hall; Filming Locations: Montréal, Québec, Canada (IMDB: Cyberbully (TV 2011))
Plot: The storyline follows 17 year-old Taylor who receives a computer on her birthday. She is excited to meet new friends online until she becomes the target of bullies on a popular social website. Her life changes quickly to one of fear, frustration and depression. Upon learning that she is not alone, including a classmate who suffered a similar experience, Taylor rebounds with the help of her mom (Don’t miss ABC’s Family movie “Cyberbu//y” on July 17th, 2011).
Film Review: Parents need to know that this TV movie takes a realistic and thoughtful approach to the issue of online bullying as seen through the eyes of a teen victim. Though the social website at the heart of the story is fictional, its similarity to Facebook and the like is implied, so you can draw real-world parallels between the characters' interactions and what your teens find online. The emotional content touches on issues like homophobia and suicide, so be prepared to discuss these themes as well. There's some strong language ("ass" and "damn") and a lot of name-calling ("skank," "whore," "bitch"), both face-to-face and online, and teens talk about their own sexual experiences and their views on premarital sex. There are some positive messages about tolerance, standing up to peer pressure, and turning the tables on adversity, but the movie's serious tone makes it best for teens and up. (Common Sense Media)
Cyberbully (stylized cyberbu//y) is a television film that premiered on July 17, 2011 on ABC Family. ABC Family worked with Seventeen magazine to make the film, and hopes it will "delete digital drama". The film tells the story of a teenage girl who is bullied online. It was filmed in Montreal. The film will be released on DVD February 7, 2012 (Wikipedia).
Huffington Post: "...That video changed my life. For some reason, even though I was on screen for less than 10 seconds, something about my dancing (which, I admit, wasn't exactly... professional) made a lot of people really, ridiculously, inexplicably angry. And voilà! I became the new target of quite a few Internet haters. Suddenly thousands of total strangers were saying rude things about me and calling me names like: lame, loser, awful, worthless, annoying, fat, ugly, dumb, horrible, stupid, freak -- and those aren't even the bad ones, lol. They also made gifs of me dancing and reposted it all over YouTube and Facebook (but I gotta admit, those were pretty hilarious). It seemed like the whole world had something to say about me. At first I was pretty shocked because, I mean, I'm just a kid who danced in a video, right? But then I realized that all that hate couldn't have been directed at me personally. How could someone really hate someone they know absolutely nothing about? So I laughed and I joked with the haters. I admitted that, yes, my dancing was pretty awkward, thank you very much. And then something happened. Something that I didn't expect at all. People who were hating on me suddenly started taking an interest in me. They made Facebook fan pages for me and started putting my photo as their profile pictures! The first time I saw it, I was just like, "... what?!"
They didn't know my name, so they were calling me "Sammy," "Madge," "Nadine," and "that girl in pink that dances awkwardly." So then I made my own official Facebook profile and fan page. I was getting thousands of questions every day, along with requests for me to do my dance, to sing, and to marry them on Facebook! What was even more amazing was that people started asking me for advice on how to deal with bullying and asking how I stayed so positive when everyone was being so mean. They were sharing the things that they were going through at home and at school. They were struggling with their weight, or their sexuality, or abusive relationships, and so many other things. Basically, anything these kids were facing, they were sharing with me. Reading story after story, my heart was broken. So I did my little awkward four-second dance for them in my YouTube videos (which helped raise money for earthquake relief in Japan). I organized teams of people from around the world to walk with me for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's annual "Great Strides" fundraiser. Then I wrote an e-book on how to handle cyberbullying (if you'd like to read it, it's available as a free download on thatgirlinpink.org). And then, I remembered something. Something I wrote down long before the "Friday" video. Quite a while ago, I was on a site called Six Billion Secrets. It's a site for anyone with troubles to speak about what they're going through in a completely anonymous, non-judgmental setting. After reading stories about kids getting bullied, raped, abused, or kicked out, I didn't know what to do with all that emotion. I mean, on the outside, these kids looked just like me. On the inside, they were hiding some terrible secret. Any one of those stories could have been posted by my closest friend. So I wrote down what I was feeling and it sort of turned into a song. It was a song about getting through what's happening in your life. A song saying, "Yeah, this is tough. But there is light at the end of this tunnel..." (I'm 'That Girl in Pink' )
Benni Cinkle rose to Internet fame in March, 2011 when she appeared in a music video that went viral on the Internet (approximately 180 million views). At first, she was ridiculed by the world for her awkward dancing, but instead shying away from the attention, she decided to use her 15 minutes of fame to raise awareness for the things she cares about most. Benni has been actively involved with charities for as long as she can remember. She modeled the example of her mom, a successful business owner and active community volunteer...Today, Benni is Founder and Vice President of the That Girl in Pink Foundation, a 501c3 organization. She established it shortly after receiving global Internet attention in order to better lend her support to many worthwhile causes (About Benni).
JUF: "...During her freshman year at Syracuse University, Gelfenbien was endlessly taunted by a group of boys. Although she eventually reported them and the bullying stopped, the rest of her college experience was permanently tarnished. Committed to her education, she stayed at school but suffered from low self-esteem and retreated into a shell of her typically outgoing self. Along came the Wienermobile, and with it, a new beginning. Recruited during her senior year of college, Gelfenbien knew she had been meant for the job. But never could she have predicted that the experience would impact her life as profoundly as it did...."I didn’t realize that I had lost my voice during college when I was driving the Wienermobile, but it’s obvious to me now. I basically shut down during those four years, and I thought the Wienermobile [job] would let me be myself again, which is an enthusiastic, outgoing, and silly goofball. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be on TV, which is why I went to the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Unfortunately, I didn’t take advantage of that education the way I had hoped because of the bullying…I wanted to be a broadcast major, but the bullying made me afraid to do the campus TV or radio show, because I didn’t want to be harassed more...It allowed me to partially reclaim my old self, who was spirited, exuberant and funny. All of that had been quelled through college. The job allowed me the opportunity to find my voice again, because I was being paid to be myself—someone who is outgoing, enthusiastic, and loves being around people..." (Behind the wheel…of the Wienermobile)
Get behind the wheel with Robin Gelfenbien, an insecure goody-goody, who seeks redemption on the road in the Wienermobile after years of being bullied. Can she handle a horndog co-pilot, a media circus and her college nemesis? Using music, video and photo footage from her life on the Hot Dog Highway, Gelfenbien shares the touching and hysterical true story* of her transformation from underdog to “one of the most notorious Wienermobile drivers of all time.” - Time Out New York (About Wienermobile Journey)
Robin Gelfenbien is a writer and performer whose solo show, My Salvation Has a First Name: A Wienermobile Journey, premiered at the 2008 New York International Fringe Festival. She has written jokes for Rosie O’Donnell and appeared on VH1 and in a commercial directed by Spike Lee. She’s also the creator of the storytelling series, “Yum’s the Word,” that features her homemade ice cream cakes (Broadway World).
Rockdirt: In a public service announcement for the UK’s leading bullying prevention charity Beatbullying.org, Fall Out Boy bassist/spokesmodel Pete Wentz explained that he’s been online loads of times when people have been giving each other grief. “Anything that you wouldn’t say to someone’s face, don’t say it online on the computer,” Wentz said (Pete Wentz PSA Against Online Bullying).
Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III (born on June 5, 1979) better known as Pete Wentz, is an American musician, best known for being the bassist and primary lyricist for the American rock band Fall Out Boy. Since the announcement of Fall Out Boy's indefinite hiatus, Wentz has formed the experimental electropop group Black Cards. Wentz has also ventured into other non-musical projects, including writing, acting, and fashion; in 2005 he founded a clothing company called Clandestine Industries. He also runs a film production company called Bartskull Films, as well as a bar called Angels & Kings. His philanthropic activities include collaborations with Invisible Children and UNICEF's Tap Project, a fundraising project that helps bring clean drinking water to people worldwide. On May 17, 2008, Wentz married Ashlee Simpson. On February 8, 2011, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences" (Wikipedia).
NY Times: Bullying is everywhere, including here in Fayetteville, a city of 60,000 with one of the country’s better school systems. A decade ago a Fayetteville student was mercilessly harassed and beaten for being gay. After a complaint was filed with the Office of Civil Rights, the district adopted procedures to promote tolerance and respect none of which seems to have been of much comfort to Billy Wolfe. It remains unclear why Billy became a target at age 12; schoolyard anthropology can be so nuanced. Maybe because he was so tall, or wore glasses then, or has a learning disability that affects his reading comprehension. Or maybe some kids were just bored. Or angry. Whatever the reason, addressing the bullying of Billy has become a second job for his parents: Curt, a senior data analyst, and Penney, the owner of an office-supply company. They have binders of school records and police reports, along with photos documenting the bruises and black eyes. They are well known to school officials, perhaps even too well known, but they make no apologies for being vigilant. They also reject any suggestion that they should move out of the district because of this. The many incidents seem to blur together into one protracted assault. When Billy attaches a bully’s name to one beating, his mother corrects him. “That was Benny, sweetie,” she says. “That was in the eighth grade.” It began years ago when a boy called the house and asked Billy if he wanted to buy a certain sex toy, heh-heh. Billy told his mother, who informed the boy’s mother. The next day the boy showed Billy a list with the names of 20 boys who wanted to beat Billy up. Ms. Wolfe says she and her husband knew it was coming. She says they tried to warn school officials — and then bam: the prank caller beat up Billy in the bathroom of McNair Middle School. Not long after, a boy on the school bus pummeled Billy, but somehow Billy was the one suspended, despite his pleas that the bus’s security camera would prove his innocence. Days later, Ms. Wolfe recalls, the principal summoned her, presented a box of tissues, and played the bus video that clearly showed Billy was telling the truth (A Boy the Bullies Love to Beat Up, Repeatedly).
Today MSNBC MSN: “They get away with it, so they think they can just keep doing it,” Billy told TODAY co-host Matt Lauer. “I don’t really know what started it. Maybe ’cause I moved here in elementary school and it followed me all the way to high school.” His mother echoes his words. “I honestly don’t know,” she said. “From the first assault when the kids didn’t get in trouble, they thought it was okay. They thought, ‘He’s a good target, he’s an easy target, and it’s okay to hit him because we’re not going to get in trouble.’ ”In addition to physical assaults, there has been cyber bullying that has ranged from an Internet posting that said, “Everyone hates Billy Wolfe,” to another accusing him of being gay. His parents have pursued the normal avenues of redress, from talking to the parents of Billy’s tormentors to appealing to school officials. As the assaults have continued, they’ve finally resorted to hiring an attorney and suing at least one of the bullies. They’ve also gone public, telling Billy’s story to The New York Times, which played it on the front page of the newspaper (Parents sue son’s bully, threaten school district).
Billy Wolfe - Fayetteville, Arkansas high school sophomore Billy Wolfe has been a target of school bullies for years. He and his parents have filed a lawsuit against one such bully, Ian Teeters, along with several other unnamed "John Doe" bullies. They are also considering a suit against the school district. Among the incidents described by a New York Times article on Wolfe are prank calls made to his home, beatings that caused the boy to lose consciousness and a Facebook group set up to ridicule him entitled "Every One That Hates Billy Wolfe." Wolfe's school has received over 300 phone calls and e-mails since the story broke, including at least one that was threatening. The school district is now working with the FBI to determine the source of these threats (Mahalo.com).
The Salt Lake Tribune: Miranda Cosgrove, the 17-year-old star of the popular Nickelodeon TV show "iCarly," showed up at Crescent Elementary School to meet with more than 90 fourth-graders who had won a local radio station contest that revolved around bullying. "It’s a really great cause," Cosgrove told media after the event. She attended school until the fifth grade, she said, and had experienced bullying at school. (Miranda Cosgrove, star of "iCarly," talks to Utah students about bullying).
Ventura County Star: The popular children's television network Nickelodeon is the latest voice to raise awareness of digital bullying. The issue has received national attention after the suicides of teenagers who were cyberbullying victims. President Barack Obama held a White House conference on bullying earlier this month. Nick is collaborating with the advocacy group Common Sense Media, which has also worked with MTV and the Disney Channel on spreading the word about the issue. The hope is that the anti-bullying effort can become as pervasive and successful as campaigns calling for a designated driver who has not consumed alcohol when friends are out drinking, said James Steyer, CEO and founder of Common Sense Media, which offers reviews and advice for parents (Nickelodeon launching anti-bullying campaign).
Miranda Taylor Cosgrove (born May 14, 1993) is an American film and television actress and pop recording artist. Cosgrove played the roles of Megan Parker in Drake & Josh and title character in iCarly. Her career started at the age of three, participating in television commercials. Cosgrove's film debut was in 2003, as Summer Hathaway in School of Rock. After years of small television appearances, Cosgrove was cast into the hit show Drake & Josh and later in iCarly. Cosgrove earns $180,000 per episode of iCarly, making her the second highest paid child star on television. Following the success of iCarly, a soundtrack album was released in June 2008, in which she performed four songs. Cosgrove's debut album Sparks Fly was released on April 27, 2010 (Wikipedia).
Nickelodeon (TV channel) (usually abbreviated as "Nick", and originally named Pinwheel from December 1, 1977 to March 31, 1979, and stylized in its current logo as nickelodeon) is an American cable television network owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 6–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers ages 2–5. Since 2006, Nickelodeon has been run by MTVN Kids & Family Group President Cyma Zarghami (Wikipedia).
Josh Flagg, one of the real-estate agents on the Bravo show Million Dollar Listing, came out as gay in the March 22 episode, according to Advocate.com. In an interview that ran in the March 23 issue of Windy City Times, Flagg said that he actually has had a boyfriend for three years. Flagg also comes out in his new book, Million Dollar Agent: Brokering the Dream (Windy City Media Group).
SDGLN: "Alright this is a really interesting question, which for straight people boggles them and for gay or bisexual people is always something that you kind of realize one day. For instance, you reflect on your life and as a child you do things that are atypical. In my instance, dressing up in preschool and playing with the girls. The other boys were playing football. And then over the years there are other things and then one day you just realize “Hey, I am not interested in girls like that.” And from there you just go with the flow. Some people figure it out earlier than others. I probably put 2 and 2 together when I was about 12 or 13...Madison did not beat me to the punch. Madison just decided to come out on national television before I did, but as far as I know, I was out to the people I wanted to be out to well before Madison was. At the rate we are going, we might have to change the title of the show to "Two Homos and the Straight Dude." How will it affect my situation with Madison? Well, I certainly don't think negatively. You know Madison chose to come out on TV and make a big to do about it, which I respect. I took a different approach, a more subtle approach, and I kind of like the way Bravo did it ... slowly revealing my life, because for the most part no one knows anything about my life other than what they can read on the Internet or what they see on the show with my family, but my private life was always kind of a mystery. I guess I liked that, though. Well anyway, cats out of the bag, ha ha" (SDGLN EXCLUSIVE: Josh Flagg comes out on Bravo's “Million Dollar Listing,” reveals his boyfriend, discusses memoir).
Chicago Go Pride: "I don't think it's a big surprise," Flagg told Jerry Nunn in a Windy City Times interview this week. "I don't have a sign on my forehead or anything, but it is not that shocking." Flagg also shares about his personal life in his new book, "Million Dollar Agent: Brokering the Dream," which coincidentally was also released on Tuesday. This is his second book and this memoir including discussion of his sexuality and details of his boyfriend of three years. "It just never defines me. It just happens to be that I am gay. It doesn't define my personality. If someone asks me I will tell him or her but it is not like I flaunt it," said Flagg (Million Dollar Listing's Josh Flagg comes out gay).
Josh Flagg (born August 20, 1985) is an American real estate agent and media personality who co-stars alongside Josh Altman and Madison Hildebrand on the show Million Dollar Listing on the Bravo! television network. Appearing on television for the first time in 2008, Flagg came back to do the third season of the show in 2009. In 2010, Bravo announced a fourth season of the show, which premiered on February 3, 2011. The show, which as of now is in its fourth season, follows three young real estate agents in Los Angeles as they sell high-end homes (Wikipedia).
Advocate: Actor Josh Hutcherson stars in a video for the "Straight But Not Narrow" campaign aimed specifically at young heterosexual males to help combat homophobia. Hutcherson recently played the son of Annette Bening and Julianne Moore in the box office hit The Kids Are All Right (Josh Hutcherson: Straight, Not Narrow).
About SBNN: There have been a number of great campaigns and charities that have recently emerged to show support to gay youth & teens. However, we noticed one significant niche missing in the efforts…. the message to the young, straight male. It’s an unfortunate reality that most of the bullying and harassment that gay teens face comes from them. It is for this reason that we are building a campaign that is primarily directed to the young, straight male by using comedy and their peers to positively influence their views on LGBT teens (Straight But Not Narrow).
Joshua Ryan "Josh" Hutcherson (born October 12, 1992) is an American film and television actor. He began working in the early 2000s, appearing in several minor film and television roles. He gained wider exposure with major roles in the 2005 films Little Manhattan and Zathura, the 2006 comedy RV, the 2007 family adventure film Firehouse Dog, and the film adaptations of Bridge to Terabithia, Journey to the Center of the Earth and Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. On March 30, 2008, Hutcherson won a Young Artist Award (for Leading Young Actor). Hutcherson was also featured on a Celebrity Teens edition of the hit show MTV Cribs, and is set to play Robert in the Red Dawn remake (Wikipedia).
SFX: "...Yes, non-union or whatever, and I just asked them how much they paid. And it was more than I was getting paid at three other jobs in a week, and I went, “Are you kidding? Awesome!” The grips hid a rubber chicken in every shot; I mean, it was that kind of movie (laughs). But it was so much fun and it was a nice compliment to sitting at home alone and drawing. And I could make money. At first I knew I wasn’t very good but I also knew I could learn. So I went to an acting class and learnt all I could and then I started trying to get myself an agent, which was tough...Not so easy, really. I went through a couple of hard years with strikes and a couple of tough series. At one point the business was hard for me and I thought, “Man, I don’t want to do this anymore…That was before True Blood. It was a few years ago during the strikes and also I had two series that just didn’t go how I wanted them to go. It was so depressing and it’s hard sometimes. When people say to me, “I want to be an actor, what’s your advice?” I always say “Is there anything else you really love? If there is, I would recommend that because acting is not what you think it is.” It’s not the red carpet and it’s not the hit show. It’s like marriage. People want to get married and they think of the dress and the party, the soul mate. No, it comes down to the minute of the day...Yes it is and if you think it’s all glamour and parties that’s a fool’s dream. I wanted to be a rock star, but I couldn’t sit there and learn these frickin’ chords. Then you don’t want to be a rock star, you want that idea of being a rock star. And that’s not it. So acting is something that I seem to be able to do: I can handle auditioning, I can handle rejection, mostly, (laughs) and then, I like being on the set – I like those days..." (True Blood Interview: Kristin Bauer)
Kristin Bauer van Straten (born Kristin Neubauer) is an American film and television actress, perhaps best known for her role as vampire Pam in the HBO series True Blood. In 2011 Kristin teamed with the Animal Legal Defense Fund in the fight to free Tony, a 10-year-old Siberian-Bengal tiger who has spent every day and night of the last decade at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana (Wikipedia).
True Blood is an American television comedy drama series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, and details the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana. The series centers on Sookie Stackhouse (played by actress Anna Paquin), a telepathic waitress at a bar, who falls in love with vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer). The show is broadcast on the premium cable network HBO in the United States. It is produced by HBO in association with Ball's production company, Your Face Goes Here Entertainment. It premiered on September 7, 2008. The series has received critical acclaim and won several awards, including one Golden Globe and an Emmy. The show's second 12-episode season had its premiere on June 14, 2009 and the third season on June 13, 2010. On June 21, 2010, HBO renewed True Blood for a fourth season (Wikipedia).
Boston Herald: Jermaine Wiggins grew up in East Boston. Given his size, he didn’t encounter too many bullies. But he did step in a few times when he saw someone else being bullied, and try to calm the situation. That was one of the messages Wiggins delivered to a packed auditorium at the Daley Middle School in Lowell this morning, as part of “Bully Prevention Week.” The other was not being afraid to tell an adult if someone is being a bully. ”There’s nothing wrong with being a snitch or a rat,” said the former Pats tight end, who is largely recognized for his contributions in the “Snow Bowl” playoff game against the Raiders during the Pats 2001 championship run. ”The uncool thing is not saying something. The uncool thing is seeing something happen, and not stepping up.” (Patriots alum Jermaine Wiggins delivers anti-bullying message to middle school youth in Lowell).
Jermaine Wiggins (born January 18, 1975 in East Boston, Massachusetts) is an American football tight end for the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 1999. He played college football at Georgia. Wiggins has also been a member of the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars. He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI (Wikipedia).
Bullying is an abusive treatment, the use of force or coercion to affect others, particularly when habitual and involving an imbalance of power. It may involve verbal harassment, physical assault or coercion and may be directed persistently towards particular victims, perhaps on grounds of race, religion, gender, sexuality, or ability. The "imbalance of power" may be social power and/or physical power. The victim of bullying is sometimes referred to as a "targeted individual" (Wikipedia).
