Gay men hijack #ProudBoys hashtag and post images of themselves ‘doing very gay things’ to ‘reclaim’ the label from the far-right group in a viral trend started by Star Wars’ George Takei
- Takei, 83, took to Twitter to call on other gay men to post pictures of themselves ‘making out… or doing very gay things’ with the hashtag #ProudBoys
- Thousands of gay couples responded to his tweet with photos of themselves, and many also included images with their children
- ‘Make this hashtag about love, not hate,’ one person urged while sharing his own photos with his partner
- The viral campaign comes after President Donald Trump told the Proud Boys, a far-right group, to ‘stand back and stand by’ during the presidential debate
- In response, the Proud Boys appeared to pledge their allegiance to Trump, telling him that they were ‘standing down and standing by sir’
- Proud Boys organizer Joe Biggs wrote: ‘President Trump told the proud boys to stand by because someone needs to deal with ANTIFA… well sir! we’re ready!’
Twitter users are flooding the #ProudBoys hashtag on social media with images of LGBTQI+ pride, displacing posts made by neo-Nazis and white supremacists using the tag.
Proud Boys, a far-right group founded in 2016, calls itself a ‘white chauvinist’ organization but is considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The group was in the news after U.S. President Donald Trump declined to condemn them during Tuesday’s presidential debate, instead telling them to ‘stand back and stand by,’ which many group members took as an endorsement. Trump later denounced the group in a Fox News interview.
Taking a stand: Gay men have hijacked the #ProudBoys hashtag used by the far-right group after Star Wars actor George Takei (pictured right) launched a viral campaign against them
Idea: Takei, 83, took to Twitter on October 1 to encourage gay men to share pictures of themselves ‘doing very gay things’ in the hopes of ‘messing up’ the far-right Proud Boys
Speaking out: The viral campaign comes after President Donald Trump told the Proud Boys, a far-right group, to ‘stand back and stand by’ during the presidential debate last week
Love not hate: Thousands responded to Takei’s tweet, with many sharing images of themselves with their children
On Sunday the #ProudBoys hashtag began trending in North America as LGBTQI+ users included it on photos of their significant others or wedding days and other pride imagery.
‘Look at these cute lil #ProudBoys,’ Bobby Berk, a host of the popular Netflix show Queer Eye, wrote on Sunday, alongside a photo with his husband. ‘Retweet and make this hashtag about love, not hate.’
The official Twitter account of the Canadian Armed Forces in the United States shared an image of a serviceman kissing his partner, captioned with emojis of the Canada flag and rainbow pride flag and the hashtag #ProudBoys.
‘If you wear our uniform, know what it means. If you’re thinking about wearing our uniform, know what it means,’ the organization said in a follow-up tweet. ‘Love is love.’
An internal report from the Canadian military in November 2018 found 53 members were found to have made discriminatory statements or were linked to hate groups including the Proud Boys and anti-immigrant group Soldiers of Odin.
Vocal: Some gay men shared photos of themselves with their partners, while others posted images of friends and family members
‘Works for me’: Thousands rallied behind Takei in the hopes of reclaiming the hashtag from the far-right group, which seemed to be galvanized by Trump’s words at the debate