Showtime Stands by LGBTQ Small Businesses During Pride Month
As right-wing legislators pass anti-trans, anti-drag and generally anti-LGBTQ initiatives in a host of states across the country — such as Florida’s recently expanded “Don’t Say Gay” law, which forbids discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in any grade in public schools — Showtime is stepping up to support safe queer spaces and LGBTQ-owned businesses.
For the fourth year in a row, Showtime has partnered with the civil rights group The Human Rights Campaign for its Queer to Stay initiative, which will give 25 new grants to small businesses around the country with LGBTQ owners, with a total of $250,000 in contributions. The program — which has already supported 55 queer-owned companies since its inception in 2020 — is designed, per Showtime, to “uplift and preserve small businesses that serve the LGBTQ+ community; particularly businesses that are owned by or empower LGBTQ+ people of color, women and the transgender community.”
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Small businesses can apply for the grants at Human Rights Campaign’s Queer to Stay application page; the window for application is open through August 31.
Showtime, in a release, stressed that it is standing by its commitment to the LGBTQ community at a time when queer rights are under attack around the country, as are companies that stand in support.
“As we’ve seen a heartbreaking trend toward discrimination against individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity, we are proud to continue investing in LGBTQ+ businesses in partnership with HRC and expanding access to resources,” said Puja Vohra, executive vice president, consumer marketing, Paramount+ and Showtime, in a statement. “We are committed to a reality that allows all individuals to be their authentic selves without exception, not only through diverse representation in our content but also in physical spaces for LGBTQ+ patrons, employees and business owners.”
Kelley Robinson, the president of Human Rights Campaign — which recently declared a “national state of emergency” for queer Americans, with more than 75 anti-LGBTQ state bills signed into law in 2023 — adds that, “As we continue to fight back against historic legislative attacks and extremism aimed at silencing us, uplifting our queer-owned businesses and safe spaces has never been more important. We’re excited to celebrate and support our community by putting funds directly into the hands of LGBTQ+-owned, and serving, small businesses around the country. Creating new and saving existing spaces for the LGBTQ+ community requires all of our support. This partnership with Showtime is a great example of what it looks like for companies to show up for the LGBTQ+ community during these challenging times.”
Showtime and Human Rights Campaign have also released a video highlighting businesses who received Queer to Stay grants in 2023 including Washington, D.C., café As You Are, which calls itself “a safe space for all”; Amplio Fitness in Rocky River, Ohio; and M-Care health care in Wichita, Kansas, which offers “inclusive, affirming care for members of the LGBTQ+ community and offers gender-affirming services for transgender individuals.”
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