Anna Paquin is a self-admitted bisexual. The news hit just before April Fools’ Day, but it was no joke. Anna Paquin is bisexual and would like more people to educate themselves about people of different sexualities. She appeared recently in a new Public Service Announcement (PSA) for Give A Damn, an anti-discrimination program launched by Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Foundation. The organization was formed to educate and help in the elimination of discrimination and violence committed against the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender populations.
Many have watched actress Anna Paquin in various roles over the years, doing such a commendable job that she has been awarded several prestigious trophies, including an Academy Award (for “The Piano”) and a Golden Globe (for “True Blood”) along the way. But her latest role brought her sexuality to the fore. And it seems to have caught many by surprise, judging from the reactions on the internet. It would seem that Anna Paquin’s public persona and because of her love life on the hit HBO drama “True Blood,” many were under the impression that the New Zealand native was “straight.”
But she isn’t. She joins Cyndi Lauper, Elton John, Clay Aiken, Eric Roberts, Wanda Sykes and many others in the Give A Damn PSA, offering information about discrimination and inviting others to give a damn and join in their fight. Some of the stars, like Anna Paquin (“I’m bisexual”) and Cyndi Lauper (“I’m straight”), declare their sexuality at the beginning of the ad. Then others provide disturbing information, like Cyndi Lauper’s statistic: ”A hate crime is committed approximately every hour of every day in this country” and Eric Roberts’ startling line: “In the past 16 years, over 13,000 men and women have been discharged from the military for being gay.”
Although her “outing” of herself as bisexual in the Give A Damn PSA might not garner her any awards, it will most likely be one of the most rewarding roles Anna Paquin has taken on. What could be more rewarding than to attempt to ensure that everyone be accorded equality and basic human rights, not just under the law but in the hearts and minds of their fellows?
For more information on the Give A Damn program, go to to WeGiveADamn.org.
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