Celebs in Singapore speak out for Pride Month and Pink Dot
SINGAPORE — It's Pride Month already – that time of year when the LGBTQ community reaffirms their worth as equal members of society, and allies have the opportunity to step up to support them.
As the annual LGBTQ rally Pink Dot gears up for a virtual celebration on 12 June, celebrities in Singapore are speaking up, though not many, admittedly, in a country where gay sex is still illegal – no Mediacorp celebrities, certainly.
Pam Oei, theatre actress and a longtime ally who's been the Pink Dot marshal at every iteration of the event since its inception, jammed to iconic Pride anthems with composer Julian Wong on theatre company Wild Rice's social media. The pair were supposed to perform a run of Oei's monologue play, Faghag, this month, but tightened COVID-19 restrictions forced the show to be postponed.
Oei and Wong performed songs including "I Will Survive", "Born This Way" and "It's Raining Men", with Oei singing and Wong on the piano keyboard.
Red Dot for Pink Dot, a group of businesses that raises funding for Pink Dot, announced the list of sponsors that had signed on so far on Wednesday (2 June) – one of the sponsors is actor Lim Yu-beng. He also spoke up for LGBTQ equality, writing on his Facebook page on the first day of June:
I stand with Pink Dot SG. There's some troubling stuff out there I've read recently. Let me tell you something. Believing in equality and protection of gay rights doesn't make you gay. Keeping a bad law which only reached this part of the world because of western colonization doesn't make you a "protector of Asian values against the decadent West". Legalising homosexuality won't threaten your children, and infringe on your "right" to discriminate against others. If you are so worried that you won't be able to act upon your discrimination, you are already on the wrong side of existing laws.
Mutual respect, tolerance, and acceptance of self and others, is not just some flower power bullshit. It's a system. Just like systems of governance, philosophy, and management. And unlike many of those, if put fully into practice, it is the only one that can achieve no bad, and all good.
I stand for the Freedom to Love. Be. Accept. Embrace.
Actor Allan Wu posted photos on his Instagram in which he's wearing Pride apparel in rainbow colours. (Yes, the fitness buff still looks very good in underwear at the age of 48.)
Wu wrote in his post:
Is it already June again?! This month also happens to be Pride Month where we celebrate diversity and equality. 🙌🏼
Growing up in the States, my parents taught me two important tenets: work hard for what you want and even more importantly, accept how we’re all different and treat everyone equally.
In celebration of Pride Month, BOSS has created a capsule collection to support “Love For All” regardless of race, colour, creed, religion, and sexual orientation.
It’s not always easy doing what is right so we must continue to work together and fight for hope, acceptance, and freedom! 🤜🏼❤️🤛🏽
And basking in the ocean water in just your BOSS Pride underwear is optional! 😜
Allan Wu's post is most likely a sponsored post for Boss but, hey, it's still more than what most celebs in Singapore will do for LGBTQ equality!
Related stories:
Here are the LGBTQ-friendly companies sponsoring Pink Dot 2021
Singaporean transgender student says she's barred from school again
Mediacorp apologises for TV drama containing negative gay stereotypes
Homes across Singapore light up in pink as Pink Dot 2020 goes online
Singapore's LGBTQ voters call on election candidates to end silence on queer issues
