Celebs Are Singing 'Gay' to Protest Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' Bills

Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill has led to numerous protests throughout the country and online, with some of the backlash getting fairly creative. In fact, since we supposedly can’t say gay, some folks have started posting videos simply singing it instead.

Kate McKinnon popularized the idea during a recent Saturday Night Live segment, in which she pretends to discover on air that the “Don’t Say Gay” bill isn’t about forbidding students from using “gay” as a taunt or slur, but would hypothetically prevent discussion of families that include same-sex parents, mentioning LGBTQ+ historical figures, and require teachers to out students to their families.

By the end of the segment, McKinnon tells viewers, “if you can’t say it, you might as well sing it” — and does just that.

Since Saturday, some of Broadway’s best have accepted the challenge, putting their talents to good use by simply singing gay, encouraging others to let Florida students — and politicians from other states who may be considering running their own version of the bill — know that this bill isn’t something that will be ignored.

Audra McDonald chose to sing it as scales:

West Side Story star Ariana DeBose, who is herself queer, got really creative with it:

And the trend is continuing on with others around the country who want to lend their voice to uplifting LGBTQ+ students and pushing back against this cruel law:

Singing "gay" isn’t going to miraculously cure the homophobia racing through Florida’s politics — and as the Daily Beast points out, some celebrities have the privilege and power to do a lot more than just tweet about this issue — but if saying and singing “gay” is a step towards making things better, it’s certainly an enjoyable one. It’s only too bad we ever had to be at this backwards crossroads at all.