The popular anti-Proposition 8 campaign NoH8, which has gone viral in the Hollywood and celebrity community, is closely tied to Dan Savage’s It Gets Better Project. The NoH8 campaign was started in opposition to California’s Proposition 8, which would have enshrined traditional marriage in California; it quickly went viral, with celebrities taking glossy photos with duct tape over their mouths and the word “NoH8” scrawled on their cheeks.
NoH8 associated itself with Savage’s campaign early on. In fact, their first video – the “It Gets Better PSA” – was “our message of hope to LGBT youth, as well as our contribution to the It Gets Better Project. The It Gets Better Project,” the NoH8 Campaign website continues, “was a viral video project created by Dan Savage in an attempt to give hope to LGBT youth.” The video featured celebrities including Meghan McCain, Shanna Moakler, Tori Spelling, and Drew Carey.
There is a specific section on the NoH8 Campaign website dedicated to the It Gets Better Project.
And yet when Breitbart News contacted the NoH8 Campaign for comment on Dan Savage’s attacks on Christian youths, the NoH8 Campaign denied any association with Savage or Savage’s program whatsoever:
Hi Ben,
Thank you for reaching out; we appreciate your consideration of the NOH8 Campaign.
To answer your question, the NOH8 Campaign has never worked with Dan Savage or the It Gets Better Project – so there is actually no affiliation or association between Dan Savage and NOH8.
I apologize for any confusion, and I hope this helps to satisfy your inquiry. Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Thanks again!
Best,
Chris Hayden
This is a bald-faced lie, of course. When confronted with this lie, the NoH8 campaign simply did not reply.
UPDATE:
After this piece posted, Breitbart News received a follow-up email from Mr. Hayes:
Hi Ben,
The NOH8 Campaign, like hundreds of other organizations and businesses like HRC and Google, along with millions of people across the world, contributed to the It Gets Better Project in 2010 by putting together a video in support of their message. While some organizations may have worked directly with the It Gets Better Project, many independently recorded and uploaded an It Gets Better video to their own personal YouTube channels or websites without ever having any contact with the It Gets Better project — including the NOH8 Campaign. To support an organization and to work with an organization are two separate things. While we obviously support the positive mission of the It Gets Better Project, we are not currently working with their organization in any capacity, nor have we had any collaboration with them in the past.
The content and the message of the NOH8 Campaign’s ‘It Gets Better’ video have nothing to do with Mr. Savage, nor did he have any involvement in our video or our own campaign. In fact, nobody working for the NOH8 Campaign has ever had any contact with Dan Savage either before or after the creation of his project. I suspect this might be true for the millions of other users who have also made videos.
Again, I hope this helps to clarify things further, and please let me know if you have any additional questions. Thank you, Ben!
Best,
Chris
Judge for yourself. The very first video NoH8 ever cut, by their own admission, was for Savage’s It Gets Better Project. While NoH8 claims that nobody at their campaign has had “any contact with Dan Savage either before or after the creation of his project,” the website specifically singles out Savage as creator of It Gets Better “in an attempt to give hope to youth.”
Here’s their video for Savage’s It Gets Better. And it specifically notes: “Familiar faces join the NOH8 Campaign (www.noh8campaign.com) to send a message of hope and inspiration to LGBT youth in support of Dan Savage’s ‘It Gets Better’ Project.”
It is not true that “The content and the message of the NoH8 Campaign’s ‘It Gets Better’ video have nothing to do with Mr. Savage” – while NoH8 may have created the video, it was created for Savage’s organization to meet with his message.
Even if NoH8 supports (rather than “works with”) Savage’s organization, they have an obligation to disassociate from Savage himself. And yes, they were associated with Savage’s campaign, by their own choice.