The History of GLAAD's Annual Spirit Day

Here's the history of the largest annual antibullying campaign in the world: Spirit Day. 

• The Obama White House went purple for Spirit Day on Facebook and posted about the day on WhiteHouse.gov. 
• The American Federation of Teachers and GLAAD partnered on Spirit Day classroom kits for teachers and a series of public service announcements featuring LGBTQ youth with Amy Poehler, Shaquille O'Neal, Chaz Bono, Naya Rivera, and more. Comcast donated $3 million in airtime to push the PSAs to 20 million homes. 

• Betty White became "Betty Purple."
• Oprah changed her Twitter photo with a purple filter. 

• Hillary Clinton tweeted “to everyone who’s ever been bullied for who you are: You’re perfect, and I’m proud of you. #SpiritDay -H." 
• Britney Spears offered a video message to youth. 

• Celine Dion sang "Purple Rain" during her concert and spoke to LGBTQ youth. 
• First Spirit Day concert hosted by Justin Tranter and featuring Adam Lambert singing "Living on a Prayer" and Courtney Love singing "Hands to Myself."
• Kerry Washington celebrated the day! 

• Democratic presidential hopefuls offered Spirit Day messages. They included Sen. Kamala Harris, Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Sen. Cory Booker. Buttigieg, a gay man, told young people, "Take strength in the fact that there are a whole bunch of people around the world cheering you on that have never even met you."

• Songwriter Justin Tranter, who's penned hits for the likes of Britney Spears and Ariana Grande, held a benefit concert and told the audience his harrowing story of being physically assaulted by bullies in high school — and being punished for it instead of the perpetrators.