Top Celebs Gets Artsy for Marriage Equality

Over 80 entertainers, political leaders and other notables, including Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, RuPaul, and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, have customized original screen prints by noted artist Shepard Fairey. The prints are to be displayed at an event in Los Angeles in November and auctioned online at CharityBuzz.com, with all proceeds going to grassroots organizations fighting for marriage equality across the country.

Fairey, whose "Obama Hope" print became the iconic emblem of President Obama's campaign, was approached by FAIR, an LGBT grassroots marriage equality organization, to commission an image that would help unite and inspire the movement after the passage of Proposition 8 last November. The result was the creation of the "Defend Equality Love Unites" image.

"I am proud to contribute the Defend Equality Love Unites image to the fight for marriage equality, and commend FAIR for putting this image to good use," Fairy told The Advocate. "This event, and the project behind it, are great examples of innovative advocacy and activism. This project gives a united platform for so many notable voices to bring greater awareness to this movement."

Many of the customized prints will be on display during an event sponsored by FAIR in partnership with entertainment networking group HOMOtracker and its annual FallOut fundraiser at West Hollywood's popular Andaz hotel on November 12. Fairey will attend and serve as DJ for a portion of the evening.

"We're honored to have collaborated with Shepard Fairey on this project and we hope the image continues to be used throughout the nation to both rally and inspire the men and women fighting to secure equality for LGBT Americans," says FAIR member Nick Velasquez.

An eclectic list of equality-minded celebrities -- gay and straight -- have signed (and in some cases customized) the original screen prints, including Robert DeNiro, Bradley Cooper, designers Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Melissa Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michaels (who signs her name Tammy Etheridge), Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pine, Natalie Portman, Lance Bass (above), Dave Matthews, Jared Leto, Charlie Sheen, and the cast of The Sarah Silverman Program.

Tickets for the event are available at FallFairOut.EventBrite.com.

More images on next page...

Melissa and Tammy Etheridge

Kirsten Dunst

Cast of The Sarah Silverman Program

Chris Pine