Steve Bing Gives Hollywood's Heftiest No on Prop. 8 Donation

Hollywood producer and real estate tycoon Steve Bing will donate the largest sum to fight California's proposed gay marriage ban from the entertainment industry. Bing will give $500,000 to No on Proposition 8, according No on 8 political strategist Chad Griffin. His donation will also be the largest non-LGBT gift to the campaign.

Griffin contacted The Advocate to announce the donation, which comes on the heels of an announcement from Equality California that fund-raising for No on 8 is gaining on the opposition. Still, donations need to keep rolling in, Equality California campaign director Patrick Guerriero urged at a briefing Tuesday for the LGBT press.

Proposition 8, if passed, would amend the California constitution to prohibit gay or lesbian couples from marrying.

Other celebrities who have given to the cause include Brad Pitt, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, and T.R. Knight, each donating $100,000. Pete Wentz and his band Fall Out Boy donated $50,000, and TV talk-show host-comedian Chelsea Handler gave $5,000.

Melissa Etheridge and Mary J. Blige will headline a fund-raiser to benefit No on 8 on October 21. Hosted by business magnate Ron Burkle, the benefit will take place at his Beverly Hills estate and is to be cohosted by Spielberg. Other guests are expected to include Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, organizational leaders, and celebrities. (Michelle Garcia, The Advocate)

Keywords: California marriage Prop 8

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Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Name: Eddie89
Date posted: 2008-10-15 6:28 PM
Hometown: San Diego

Comment:

Yes, HUGE props to Bruce Bastian for his $ 1Mil. donation. Props to Pitt, Spielberg, Capshaw, T.R. Knight, Pete Wentz and Fall Out Boy, Chelsea Handler. The other comenters are right! We should not wait around and let others do this for us. I'm not a multi-millionaire, but I don't have to be to send some money! Even a lowly $5.00 can go a long way, if it's sent by many individuals. Think about it. If every single LGBT person just donated a mere $5.00 each, that would amount to MILLIONS of dollars for this fight! That's right! For the cost of a single mocha frappuccino, you could make a difference! So, until election day. I will skip my daily mocha frappuccino and instead donate that money to NO ON PROP. 8!

Name: Randy
Date posted: 2008-10-15 2:32 PM
Hometown: Los Angeles

Comment:

When will the appropriate ads be placed on the Television? The Right Wing already has their typical ads flooding the airwaves. That’s why they are winning now. I'm not talking about the nice comfortable ads we've seen so far. The only way to beat the Right Wing on this is to show the state of California and the country, who and what these people really are...BIGOTS!!! I Hope someone is formulating the correct ads for the last 20 days before the vote...if not, all the money in the world will not stop this from being defeated. So far the response from the Gay community and the people in control of these donations can only be described as "Timid". If we continue to take this approach and we will lose!

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