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Joel McHale Donates N.C. Show Proceeds to LGBT Org.

Joel McHale Donates N.C. Show Proceeds to LGBT Org.

joel mchale

The comedian joins a chorus of entertainers and businesses criticizing the state for passing an anti-LGBT law. 

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Joel McHale is donating all of the profits from his recent performance in Durham, N.C., to the LGBTQ Center of Durham, to protest the state for passing House Bill 2, an anti-LGBT law.

The comedian performed Friday at the Durham Center for the Arts, where he told the audience, "What the fuck is wrong with your government, you guys?," while wearing a handmade shirt he made that read "LGBTQ Durham."

HB 2, which was signed into law in March, stuck down LGBT-inclusive municipal antidiscrimination ordinances statewide and prohibits cities from adopting any new ones. It also expressly requires transgender people to use public bathrooms and locker rooms that do not match their gender identity.

The audience clapped in response to McHale's question, and then he admitted that he was going to cancel his show, before realizing that the Durham City Council passed a resolution opposing "that stupid fucking bill," he said.

"I am going to donate every single dime I make tonight to the LGBTQ Center," he told the audience, a YouTube video shows.

In a statement to People, McHale's rep said, "Joel is vehemently opposed to HB2 and knows there are many in Durham [which recently passed a measure condemning the law] that share the feeling." "He felt this was a good way to raise awareness and much needed funds for a local center that is on the front line of this important cause," the rep said.

A spokesperson for the LGBTQ Center of Durham told BuzzFeed News, "As a new center we generously appreciate that kind of support in this moment while our people are hurting over the ways our local general assembly is not treating them properly."

On Friday, Bruce Springsteen announced he was canceling his Sunday show in Greensboro because of his opposition to HB 2. "Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry -- which is happening as I write -- is one of them," he said in a statement.

Canadian rocker Bryan Adams said Sunday he would cancel a show scheduled for Thursday in Mississippi because the state passed an anti-LGBT bill that allows businesses, individuals, and religiously affiliated organizations to deny service to LGBT people and others who somehow offend an individual's "sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction."

Watch a video of McHale talking about the bill in Durham, below.

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Yezmin Villarreal

Yezmin Villarreal is the former news editor for The Advocate. Her work has also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Mic, LA Weekly, Out Magazine and The Fader.
Yezmin Villarreal is the former news editor for The Advocate. Her work has also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Mic, LA Weekly, Out Magazine and The Fader.