No H8 or Hypocrisy? Celebrities participate in No H8 campaign

Jessica Pellegrino – General Assignment Reporter 

Everybody from Kim Kardashian to Kathy Griffin has participated in the “No H8” Campaign. Celebrities sport duct tape shielded mouths to show their opposition to Prop 8. California Proposition 8 was introduced to Congress in 2008 and it suggested that only marriage between a man and a woman could be recognized in the state of California.

As a response to Prop 8, celebrity photographer Adam Bouska created the image series, using mostly celebrities to get “No H8’s” message across to a bigger audience. The pictures served as a nonviolent, silent protest to Prop 8.

Nowadays, the photos are more popular than ever. Even years after the campaign was introduced, the photos have become the face of marriage, gender, and human equality. Yet, some of the celebrities in the campaign do not seem to follow in the campaign’s ideals.

Celebrities directly targeted Sarah Palin, conservatives and the Republican Party. Though these politicians’ ideals may not necessarily be agreeable, the campaign participants violently and hatefully shared their opinions. So much for that nonviolent, silent protest, right?

Take Kathy Griffin, for example. Kathy Griffin is known most for her gritty humor which targets people. She constantly makes fun of celebrities, politicians, and athletes.

Griffin gains her popularity by being provocative and poking fun at famous people. She’s called Bristol Palin fat and ugly. She once said she wanted “to push Sarah Palin down the stairs”. In fact, Griffin made an entire comedy show bashing the Palin family. Funny how Griffin was able to capitalize on making fun of a hot-button political family. All of these things seem pretty hateful to me.

Cher is another example of this “No H8” hypocrisy. Cher took to social media to blast Palin, referring to her with distasteful swears. Cher’s Palin H8 even made it into the fashion magazine Vanity Fair, where Cher continued her anti-Palin rant. But Cher did not stop with Palin. She slandered the tea party and the Republican Party, calling them the “devil incarnate” on Twitter.

Hundreds of these cases exist. Celebrities disregard their anti-“H8” pledges in favor of hateful words. Does this not go against everything the campaign stands for? The campaign is meant to be a silent reminder that marriage inequality exists, even to this day.

I, for one, have trouble taking people’s opinions seriously when they present them so negatively. Do not get me wrong, I do not think these celebrities should be silenced. With their fan followings, they are one of our best resources for garnering attention for important issues.

This is not the kind of attention I think marriage equality deserves. This attention seems hostile and threatening. Marriage equality deserves constructive attention that can lead to action.

Not all celebrities fall into this camp, however. Many celebrities actively fight for equal rights. Macklemore released the song entitled, “Same Love” to show his support for gay rights. The song reached many audiences and spread support without spreading hate. When the song won awards, Macklemore would remind the audience and everyone watching at home, the importance of equal rights.

Celebrity couple Dax Sheppard and Kristen Bell refused to get married until all of their friends were afforded the same rights. When same sex marriage became legal in California, the couple got virtually engaged over Twitter to showcase their happiness.

Thankfully, these acts of solidarity far outweigh the hateful “support” of some celebrities. But the moral of the story still stands. Celebrities should not use their influence to spread hate, especially in topics surrounding the ideas of love and equality. It is hypocritical.

Photo Credit: Aline Moura