After Nex Benedict's death, 350 LGBTQ+ groups, activists, and celebs urge Oklahoma superintendent's removal

More than 350 LGBTQ+ organizations, activists, and celebrities are urging the removal of Ryan Walters as Oklahoma superintendent of public instruction, saying he has encouraged “a climate of hate and bigotry.”

The demand comes in light of the death of transgender teen Nex Benedict, who died February 8, one day after a fight with other students in a restroom at Owasso High School in Oklahoma. Walters has called Benedict’s death a tragedy but has continued to condemn what he considers “woke” ideology and refused to recognize any gender identity outside the cisgender male/female binary. He has made many anti-LGBTQ+ statements and appointed far-right activist Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok to a state board advising on library materials.

The organizations, activists, and celebs signed on to an open letter that was released Wednesday. The letter was spearheaded by Freedom Oklahoma, GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, and GLSEN. It is addressed to six state legislators, calling on them to remove Walters from his position and investigate the Oklahoma Department of Education “to determine what actions and policies have led to a culture where rampant harassment of 2SLGBTQI+ students has been allowed to go unchecked.”

“In the weeks following Nex’s death, numerous youths have come forward to detail the rampant harassment of Oklahoma’s 2SLGBTQI+ students by peers, teachers, and administrators,” it reads in part. “We are outraged that a climate of hate and bigotry has been not only allowed to thrive, but encouraged by the person who is responsible for education in the state of Oklahoma. State officials must be held accountable for bringing the politics of hate into Oklahoma’s schools and making our most vulnerable youth pay the price.”

“Superintendent Walters’ reprehensible conduct shows a willful rejection of his duty to protect the health and welfare of the children in Oklahoma’s public schools and instead has created an environment that allows for hostility and harm for youth like Nex,” the letter states.

There has been a surge in the number of young people seeking help for mental health crises since Benedict’s death. Rainbow Youth Project, which promotes the health, safety, and wellness of LGBTQ+ young people throughout the U.S., reported receiving 894 crisis contacts since February 16, when news about Benedict’s death gained national attention.

Signatories to the letter include national and regional civil rights groups as well as notable individuals, such as Kristin Chenoweth, Demi Lovato, Cynthia Nixon, k.d. lang, Jonathan Van Ness, Amy Schneider, Peppermint, ALOK, Emma Roberts, and Tommy Dorfman.

Nicole McAfee, executive director of Freedom Oklahoma, issued this statement: “The same week as Oklahoma and much of the world was grappling with the news of a 16-year-old Indigenous, 2STGNC+ student left dead after experiencing head trauma in a bathroom fight that involved anti-trans bullying, State Superintendent Ryan Walters and his gubernatorial appointed school board unanimously passed fifteen administrative rules that did everything from ban DEI programs to name Judeo Christian values as the foundations of Oklahoma public education. It’s yet another example that not only is Walters out of touch with the needs of Oklahoma students, teachers, and families, but he is willing to continue his work to make public schools in Oklahoma hostile for 2SLGBTQ+ and BIPOC students, no matter the cost.”

“Superintendent Walters appears to have no interest in the safety and future of Oklahoma’s students as he has dangerously and recklessly prioritized escalating attacks against LGBTQ, indigenous, and vulnerable youth, promoting lies, spreading disinformation, and pushing broad scale discriminatory policies that do nothing to improve education,” added GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.

“Nex's life was taken due to anti-trans hatred peddled by State Superintendent Ryan Walters, Chaya Raichik (Libs of TikTok) and extremist state legislators. These adults must be held accountable for their actions and words,” commented Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, executive director of GLSEN.

HRC President Kelley Robinson stated, “Long before Nex Benedict’s tragic death, Superintendent Walters’ troubling history of transphobic and racist behavior consistently put Oklahoma’s students, staff and teachers at risk. ... Oklahoma students deserve to learn in an environment where they can be their authentic selves, free of harassment and bullying. That will never be the case with Ryan Walters in charge.”