Mike C. Manning of MTV's The Real
World: Washington D.C. has joined James Duke Mason's Trailblazer
campaign.
Mason, the son of singer Belinda
Carlisle, launched the campaign, which urges gay actors to leave the
closet, with his own 3-minute-40-second video.
“It's going to take a movement to
beat the naysayers who would rather we remain silent, scared and
afraid,” Mason
says in the campaign's inaugural video.
In his 1-minute-12-second video,
Manning says actors shouldn't apologize for being gay.
“When I'm not in Hollywood I'm
traveling around the country talking to college students and
universities about the importance of getting involved with the LGBT
civil rights movement,” Manning says.
“A main message in my speeches is the
importance of being out there and being vocal about who you are and
the impact that can have on those around you in a positive way. When
you are on the big screen, I think that impact is amplified.”
“To everyone out there just be proud
of who you are and don't apologize for it. Even if it goes against
the grain,” he adds. (The video is embedded in the right panel of
this page.)
Manning will appear later this year in
the gay-themed romantic comedy eCupid.