Anna’s work on behalf of LGBTQ youth was in the spotlight this week. She, along with Salma Hayek Pinault, Gwyneth Paltrow, Oprah Winfrey, and Susan Wojcicki, graced the cover of Variety’s Power of Women issue, the seventh edition of the annual special issue honoring women “who are using their clout to bring attention to worthy causes.” Anna was honored for her work with the Trevor Project, an organization devoted to preventing suicide among LGBTQ youth.
All five versions of the issue were released this past Wednesday, October 6th. For her cover story, Anna gave Variety this interview. Two days later, with her characteristic wit and modesty, Anna again voiced her support for the Trevor Project at the Power of Women luncheon in Beverly Hills, as she accepted her award, presented to her by Lisa Kudrow, her costar in the upcoming “Table 19”.
Congratulations, Anna!
Anna Kendrick Helps Give Hope to LGBT Teens With the Trevor Project
Anna Kendrick is lucky. She grew up in Maine in an open-minded family, and has been constantly working in theater, film and TV since before she hit puberty. “When I think about it, I am very fortunate that I have a lot of gay men and women in my life,” she says.
Not everyone is so lucky, which is where the Trevor Project comes in. Founded in 1998 by the team behind the Oscar-winning short “Trevor,” Randy Stone, Peggy Rajski and writer-performer James Lecesne, it’s a national organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ teens.
Despite recent breakthroughs for the LGBTQ community, there are still pockets in the country where services offered by the Trevor Project are critical, Kendrick says.
Indeed, with the heated 2016 presidential campaign making gay rights an issue, the Trevor Project’s work is more important than ever. “I think it’s a problem if you’re allowed to run for office on a platform of hate,” Kendrick says.
“I just think that what they do is necessary,” she says. “I remember a couple of years ago I had a friend say, ‘I am glad gay rights are important to you.’ It was the first time that I considered that people think it’s unique or brave” to champion gay rights. “It just seems to me that it’s just basic human rights.”
The star of the “Pitch Perfect” movies — which are nothing if not cool with diversity of every kind — notes, “There’s something interesting happening with the younger generation. A lot of my vocal fans on social media are young gay women. Everyone’s becoming more open and it seems like the tide is shifting, but the reactionaries get more vocal and vitriolic.”
And organizations like the Trevor Project let teens know that there is hope. {http://variety.com}
