Brad Pitt has put his money where his mouth is in terms of his commitment to gay rights. The actor famously told Esquire that he and partner Angelina Jolie wouldn’t get married until everyone who wanted to could. Now Brad has donated $100,000 to fight a ballot initiative in California that’s attempting to take away gay couples’ right to marry.
Brad Pitt has donated $100,000 to fight California’s November ballot initiative that would overturn the state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage.
It’s the first time voters will be asked to ban same-sex marriage in a state where gay couples already have won the right to wed. Same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts and California.
“Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn’t harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8,” Pitt said Wednesday.
Trevor Neilson, Pitt’s political and philanthropic adviser, told The Associated Press that Pitt was surprised that his colleagues in the entertainment industry had not donated more money to support the battle against Proposition 8.
[From Yahoo News]
I have to say, any actor that has a political and philanthropic adviser is pretty awesome in my book. That says a lot about Brad that he takes his giving so seriously that he actually has someone to help him do it right. I really love that Brad is backing up his beliefs and using his celebrity to bring attention to a cause. Brad and Angelina were recently ranked sixth in Parade magazine’s list of the most generous celebrities of 2007. The couple donated $8.4 million. And this is definitely a cause that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention – and Brad’s just brought quite a bit more to it.
I find this whole Brad Pitt marriage thing rather amusing. He has gone on record saying he doesn’t know if committing to one person for life is possible (Vanity Fair). He has also said he and Angelina will not marry until everyone can marry. I’ll give him credit for at least being original with that line. He then donates a paltry $100k of his fortune to “the cause”.
Don’t care how others will protest it’s all for publicity and the upholding of the Brangelina brand, this is a good thing and kudos to him for vocalising his own concerns and supporting the issue. Go Brad and everyone else out there who’s making a stand against this and all other types of dark ages bigotry.
yah jaybird, have to agree. instead of personal shoppers and spiritual advisors (aka psychics and hollywood ‘gurus’) on the payroll, more celebs ought to have political and philanthropic advisors. thats pretty cool. i wish I had 100k to give to the cause too.
I could be wrong but I thought I read somewhere that Neilson was Angie’s political and philanthropic advisor. Now he works with the pair of them obviously, but Ange had him for years… not that it matters.
what a waste of money! He could have put the cash to some better good cause, like doctors without borders, etc etc. Ok, so he feels strongly about it, so what, he’s not gay so why is he so hung up on this. And they CAN get married now, just because there is a movement to ban it again, DOESNT mean it will happen. THEY CAN GET MARRIED! So who did he write the check to! Send me some money moneybags!!!
Rules, when you become the Brangelina Philanthropic Advisor, then you can suggest where they give their money.
Meanwhile, this is an excellent thing he’s doing. He’s absolutely correct, even if you don’t approve of gay marriage, it’s not up to you to decide how others choose to live their lives, as long as they are not hurting anyone.
Rules: They probably still don’t want to get married because not everyone can yet (not everyone lives in California and Massachusetts). They didn’t say they would get married when it was legal in California.
Also, I would suspect that one of the main reasons Pitt is donating his money to a “cause that has nothing to do with him since he’s not gay” is because he is wise and savvy enough to know that when we start limiting and abolishing one group’s protected rights, then everyone’s rights are in danger as well. Let’s hope you’re not next…
Aw, that’s so sweet. You girls know that Brad is totally leaving Angie and the kids to run off and marry Clooney, right? 😆
But seriously, good cause. But Brad could have worked on his statement a little – when I read his words, all I heard was “I’m totally sleep deprived and have no idea what I’m saying.”
He is awesome !! I love him even more now. What a beautiful human being.
rules, hello??? are you serious?? It doesnt matter if her is gay. He knows right from wrong and like he said discrimination has no place in America. There are millions of gay families who love one another and are no different from anyone else. Some book written 2,000 years ago and interpretted differently has caused un due discrimination. People see that now and Brad is just like so many other decent and loving human beings, he is STANDING UP AND SHOWING HOW WRONG IT HAS BEEN ALL THESE YEARS. Gay people are awesome !!!!!
Kaiser, you made me laugh out loud as I have re-entered the ranks of the sleep-deprived! It has a special ramble all its own. Did he pause a lot and stare distractedly at anything while issuing this statement? No babies at my house but Ike kicked my butt with roof and water damage.
I agree with Rouguelatete — constraints on anyone’s freedom are threats to ALL our freedoms. I often point out that interracial marriages were illegal in the US in many states until the Supreme Court ruled against it in 1967 — just 41 years ago! I don’t think it is the government’s job to tell anyone who the love of their life can or can’t be.
Great cause, I’m really glad Brad is supporting it!
Equal rights for ALL – whether the divider is religion, sexual orientation, gender, ethnic background or whatever – is the way of the future in my book.
I support the Human Rights Campaign, it’s one of my favorite charities. I’m not gay, but so what? I have friends who are, and anyway this is really about the larger battle for equal rights for everyone, not one specific issue that divides people.
Good for him. This is a cause I totally support…he’s still not hot though! LOL
I’m glad he did it. It seems like such a no-brainer to support gay marriage, it surprises me when it’s so news-worthy.
Now watch the “slippery slope” argument unfold: if we allow this, then why not THREE people getting married? It’s not hurting anyone, right? 🙄
@Zoe – or we could marry dogs! Cats for the Leos among us! Marry a chicken and when you get tired of them, just fry them up for dinner!
Seeing how happy the various celebrities are who recently celebrated marriages – how can anyone have a problem with that?
I suspect that a big part of the reason Brad is supporting this is because of Angie’s gay brother. More than Brad supporting this cause for its own merits, I think he is doing it out of respect for Angie and her beliefs.
Kaiser – you’re so naughty!
My boyfriend/fiance have a simular pact – in fact, a lot of serious, committed couples we know do as well. He and I are in this for the long haul, but we’re not going to make it official until every family can have the same civil rights and protection under the law. Neither of us have a spare 100k lying around to donate to the cause, though.
Bravo Bradley!
What a condescending self serving twit who morphs into his girlfriends. Does he ever have an original thought? Angelina was the one who had the gay cause. Now he has taken it up together with her hair dye. 🙄
ZOMG HAIR DYE!! (lmao, I used it! Correctly, Kaiser??? lol)
I am SOOOOO tired of the “morphing into his girlfriends/hair dye” thing… seriously, find something new to bitch about or move on. It’s VERY played out.
The good news is that Prop 8 is running about 62% unsupported as of today !
Hah, take that insecure love phobic bigots. May a puffin bite off your noses.
Could be worse Emily – he could be with Paris Hilton, spouting such banalities as “I West Africa is one of my favourite countries, it’s totally hot” 😯
I hear the “we won’t marry until everybody can” quote being bandied around a lot. Can we be sure that he was completely serious?
And Tacy – how could you call James Haven gay!! 😮 Doesn’t every Antilina know that himself and Angie have been getting it on since before they were born! 🙄
Good job, Brad! I can’t believe that they’re trying to take this away. Homophobic busy-bodies! 😡 Live and let live, people.
Whyyyyyyyyy does it bother some people SO much that other people have different beliefs and ways of life than they do?!? Mind your own stinkin’ business, damn it. Like your life is SO perfect that now you can start dictating how other people live theirs? 🙄
And the argument that people will now start marrying their dog or something, that’s insulting. Two HUMANS of the same sex getting married has absolutely NOTHING to do with an animal and a human getting married. Animals can’t say “I do” or consent in any other way. Sorry.
As far as three or more people getting married to each other, I guess I really don’t see anything wrong with that, either. It’s not harming me and mine. If that’s how they choose to live, let ’em. It’s not for me, but it’s not for ME to decide for THEM, either.
Sorry to go off there, but I’m sick of worrying about what other rights we can look forward to losing. Scary to think about. 🙁
@TexasMom – 😀 I just read his quote and I was like, “What is he talking about again?” Weird sleep-deprivation sentence structure. But seriously, thoughts and prayers to all of you still struggling in Texas!
@Jaundice –
Pitt + Clooney = The Power Couple To End All. 😛
@Diva – Correct. ZOMG HAIR DYE. It just doesn’t feel as controversial an attack, does it?
Uh – Notprfect – it was a JOKE. Trying to point out the total idiocy with which a lot of people react to the idea of any sort of commitment other than the traditional male/female one. Wasn’t trying to insult anyone. I’m totally on the side of those who wish to publicly express their love for each other, no matter what their gender.
Sorry, I don’t mind gay people. I just can’t stand Bradley Pitt. In that picture, you can cut through his cake of foundation. He is an annoying prat. I wish Angelina had not hooked up with him. He has loser written all over him. She is better off without him. It took him 40 years to realise that there are other worthwhile causes aside from promoting the lagal use of Marijuana.
Rant over.
Mairead – so not alone sex before marriage, but sex before birth? Awesome.
Emily – “I don’t mind gay people”. Aren’t you nice.
Kaiser – Need a name for the Pitt-Clooney super couple: PiClooney? Clitt?
LMFAO @ Clitt
😆
@Geronimo & Diva – Brad + George = Brorge or Grad. Although Clitt is good too. 😀
Clitt it is!
geronimo – what’s with surprised head on yeh?
Don’t you know Angelina was sitting there as wee egg in her mammy’s ovary, just plotting!!! 🙄
😉 😉 😉
Mairead, Diva & Geronimo – OH!! Wait, how about “Pooney”???
“I’m watching the red carpet coverage just because I want to see what Pooney’s wearing tonight!”
and: “Oh, that guy? He’s such a Pooney!”
Would we then be called “Poonatics”???
I’m a Poonatic, I admit it, lol. 😆
Poonatics 4 Eva. Team Pooney.
Ok, Pooney comes too close to ‘poonani’ for me – “a name for female genitals. Comes from ‘nani’ meaning vagina and ‘poo’ meaning to tear the vagina and anus into a single hole, which frequently happens during child birth.”
Sorry for the ‘spade a spade’ talk but this is not what I want to be reminded of when this super couple comes to power. 😯
I’m sticking with Clitt and being a CLITTette.
Ruh-roh. Will this go down as The Great Clitt-Pooney Rift of 2008?
Stay tuned…
Excuse me, Kaiser, I think you’ll find it’s The Great ZOMG Clitt-Pooney Rift of 2008.
Ok, the resemblance to the word punani is why I thought it was so funny, lol, but I did NOT know THAT definition, lmao!!!!
YIKES!!!!!! 😯
Ok, I’ll just be happy with Clitt… afterall, I’ve never been disappointed by it before! 8)
geromimo. I WAS eating! 😥
ZOMG!… Clittorians
Sorry, Mairead.
But listen, girls, Diva is bang on the button ( I know, I know), do we want to be reminded of pain or pleasure when these two come to power?
I say Clitt. And CLITTette and CLITTorian. (Although fine also on pleasureable pain, now that I think about it.)
Or..
We could be all pretentious and go back to our Classical roots. I present to you:
The Clittori (plural)
A Clittorus (singular)
(yes, it did take me half an hour to come up with something that cheesy 😛 )
Clittori I like very much. Like Literati only with baser thoughts. 8)
Alone I am a happy Clittorus.
😆
Syko:
I didn’t even read your comment before I posted. It’s obvious that you were joking, though. Sorry if I sounded like I was attacking you. I’d like to think I’m sharp enough to figure that joke out. 😆
ETA: Although I have way more than my fair share of dumb moments. Lol!
I think “Clitorists” is the obvious name, there, folks.
yeah, yeah, yeah… but where do you stand on the Great ZOMG Pooney/Clitt Divide of 2008
Are you a Clittorist (thanks the other Jen!) or do you prefer the Pooney? What’s the difference say you? Oh about an inch 😈
LMFAO..
Mairead… omg, lmao
OUCH!
Too funny…Clitt and clittori, alone I am a happy Clittorus…LMAO
You all are the funniest commenters on any gossip site, my hats are off to you. I like the posts but you all keep making me come back and actually scroll down.
Good for Brad, this is a great thing to do.
I didn’t know James Haven was gay. Last I knew, some time back, he had a girlfriend. But anyway…
You know…? This sort of elevates his coolness factor a bit. Still don’t care for him much as a person, but the fact that he would take this (potential) risk and support love and family – no matter the race, sex and origin, makes him ok (for this moment 😉 ) in my book.
@NotPrfect:
Although I have way more than my fair share of dumb moments. Lol!
Don’t we all? 😀
OMG Mairead! Just read your last comment! Nearly spit out my soup! LMAO 😆
ZOMG! I have missed an astronomical amount of hilarity! DAMN!!
I’ll be a happy Clittorus any day! 😆 😆
Ah, The Great ZOMG Clitt/Pooney Rift of 2008… it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Still, I like ZOMG POONEY. It rolls off the tongue, if you will. 😆
We’re called ZOMG POONTANGERS.
i think that what brad’s doing is for a good cause.
on another note, brad and angie seem to like to contradict themselves. first he says there’s no way they wont be getting married then here he gives a heartfelt quote. omg brad, sorry but i cant stand you! or that fat thing sitting at home playing with he knives
is he doing this for personal reason? so the rumor is true, is he one them?
LOL! How’s about CLITT & THE POONTANGERS?
Like a tribute band? We can express our love through music and song.
*shakes hands with kaiser*
ZOMG RIFT put to bed happily. 8)
😆 😆 😆
OMFG! So now Brad is gay? I thought I’d heard every rationalization from the Jenhags about why Brad dumped their boring idol, but this is ridiculous! 🙄