Josh Hutcherson explains his passion for supporting equal rights and how his nonprofit Straight But Not Narrow helps the LGBTQ community.
By Kaylie Defilippis
Josh Hutcherson may be known for the blockbuster franchise “Hunger Games,” but he also wants to be known for something else–fighting for equality. “I’m a huge supporter of LGBTQ rights,” he told The Voluntourist at the Hulu Television Critics Association panel for Future Man. The actor started the organization Straight But Not Narrow as his way to support the LGBTQ community and talked about why it’s so important to him.
WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE WITH ANDY COHEN — Episode 16005 — Pictured: Josh Hutcherson — (Photo by: Charles Sykes/Bravo)
“Since I was a kid the whole world has [been] very confusing and weird to me and not understanding to me. The one thing I always thought, was the beautiful idea of being in love. That you can rob someone of that by demonizing who they fall in love with is horse shit. Whether you’re straight or gay, relationships and falling in love is difficult anyways, we should not make it any harder.”
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He added,” My mom had two gay uncles that unfortunately passed away of AIDS in the 90s. They were a big part of her life so that social issue has always been in my family.”
His nonprofit is designed to be an ally to the community and revealed how it helps.
“It’s a Gay/Straight alliance organization. A friend of mine was like, ‘there needs to be a bigger push in the straight community to support that community.’ So we go to schools and help set up gay/straight alliances and awareness programs. People can donate used technology and we get it swiped clean and sent to youth homeless shelters. There’s a number of people getting kicked out of their home because of being LGBTQ and they need access to technology to be look for jobs and social things,” he said.
One of the goals of the organization is to “positively influence the perception of, and behavior towards, LGBTQ peers,” according to their Instagram account, and Hutcherson encouraged others to get involved.
”We’re always looking for people to volunteer, help out, and donate. We have a few events that we always need volunteer[s] for. Not just to volunteer, but to be a good role model. Create that open space and comfortability.”
Straight But Not Narrow is a wonderful opportunity for allies to connect with the community and provide them with resources that may have been unattainable otherwise.
To learn more visit www.wearesbnn.com
Reporting by Heather Newgen