With the same sex marriage postal survey on its way to our mail boxes and the launch of the ‘No’ campaign, we are starting to see more and more celebrities put their foot forward and voice their personal opinion’s about the issue. Everyone from Hollywood actors, musicians and Sydney-based photographers are taking to the media to show their support for marriage equality.
One of the biggest stirs – gaining global prominence from celebrities all over the world- is UK actor Joshua Sasse’s ‘Say I Do Down Under’ Campaign which involves buying a shirt with the slogan printed on it and posting a picture on social media with the hash tag ‘Say I Do, Down Under’.
The campaign received support from many Australian celebrities including Rose Byrne, Simon Baker and Natalie Imbruglia, who joined others taking to social media to post pictures of themselves wearing the campaign shirts. Support also came from international celebrities such as British pop sensation Ellie Goulding, Chris Martin from Coldplay, and acting great Sir Ian McKellen.
Australian celebrities have also been sharing their own messages of support via twitter. Margot Robbie posted a photo on twitter wearing a rainbow-striped sweater, reminding fellow Australians living abroad to check their enrolment details. Aussie actor Chris Hemsworth tweeted the following reminder to Aussies to check enrolment with: “Dear open minded, free speaking laid back Aussies. Marriage is about love and commitment and in a country based on equal citizenship, it should be available to everyone”.
Possibly one of the biggest acts of international support Australian marriage equality has received is from none other than American celebrity talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. Ellen created a rainbow Australia emoji as part of her app Ellen’s emoji exploji and posted to twitter voicing her love for Australians, encouraging eligible voters to show their support.
Even small-scale celebrities are voicing support for marriage equality in tremendous ways. Sydney based photographer and filmmaker Duc Thinh Dong teamed up with Vice I-D to create a photo project promoting reasons why people are voting ‘yes’. It involves portraits of Duc’s close friends, with a small inscription highlighting their reason for voting ‘yes’. Project talent includes a broad range of Australians including mothers, students, stylists and artists.
Some Aussie celebrities even took to the streets to voice their support for same sex marriage. Actor Magda Szubanski, tennis legend Frank Sedgman, three-time Hawthorne Hawks premiership-player Russell Greene and Carlton FC AFL women’s player Darcy Vescio, all attended a marriage equality rally in South Melbourne on Sunday. Magda Szubanski encouraged all ‘yes’ voters to post their surveys as soon as possible to ensure it arrives on time. She also said, “If you are undecided, I hope with all my heart that you will vote yes because I believe in the institution of marriage”.
As the campaign continues more and more Aussie and international celebrities are taking to social media to show their support. And a note to our Aussie readers: remember to have your survey mailed off before October 27th to ensure it’s counted by the November 7th deadline.