Pose-A-Thon Launched to Raise Money for LGBTQ Organizations
As part of Pride month, Disney Television Studios and FX announced the launch of “Pose-a-thon.” Cast and producers of the hit show Pose will be coming together for a one-hour commercial-free virtual event on June 26 in partnership with GLSEN, Hetrick-Martin Institute, and Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund.
Cast and producers of Pose want to raise awareness for three notable organizations that work to support LGBTQ education, social change for sexual and gender minority people of color, and transgender equality through legal services and policy efforts. The special, MCed by Emmy, Grammy, and Tony-award winning actor and activist Billy Porter, along with co-star Mj Rodriguez, will air Friday, June 26 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on FX and Freeform. Viewers can also tune-in the same day starting at 7:00 p.m. PT on the webiste.
“I’m so proud of our cast and producers for coming together to present an uplifting hour of song and stories,” said co-creator, executive producer, writer, and director Steven Canals. “In the spirit of Pose, our goal is to celebrate joy, love, and, of course, Pride, from our family to yours.”
Executive producer, writer, and director Janet Mock added, “Since we’ve been unable to shoot the show we love, we jumped at the chance to reunite our Pose family and partner with the studio and network to raise spirits and awareness about the plight of LGBTQ people of color during such a turbulent time. This Pride month special is a commemoration of our forebears’ efforts, a memorial for trans lives lost, and a celebration of the life-saving work of LGBTQ+ organizations.”
“Pose-A-Thon” unites the voices behind the critically-acclaimed drama series Pose, featuring music and anecdotes from Porter, Rodriguez, Angel Bismark Curiel, Sandra Bernhard, Dyllón Burnside, Steven Canals, Dominique Jackson, Jeremy McClain, Janet Mock, Indya Moore, Our Lady J, Jason Rodriguez, Angelica Ross, Hailie Sahar, Ryan Jamaal Swain, Charlayne Woodard, and Patti LuPone. Pose supervising producer Tanase Popa serves as producer of the special.
The special event will encourage viewers to support three of the many charitable LGBTQ organizations: GLSEN, Hetrick-Martin Institute, and Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund.
GLSEN envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Each year, GLSEN programs and resources reach millions of students and educators in K-12 schools, via action at the national, state, and local level. Over three decades of work, GLSEN has improved conditions for LGBTQ students across the United States and launched an international movement to address LGBTQ issues in education and promote respect for all in schools.
Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI) believes all young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment to achieve their full potential. They offer basic and emergency support, mental health counseling, job readiness training, and arts and culture programming for thousands of LGBTQ young people and their families living in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area. HMI also partners with House Lives Matter, a home-grown peer leadership and advocacy project that promotes wellness, quality of life, rights, and resiliency among youth and adults in the House Ball Community and mobilizes members from different Houses and regions across the U.S. around a shared advocacy agenda.
Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund is committed to ending discrimination based upon gender identity and expression and to achieving equality for transgender people, particularly those most pushed to the margins. They are leading the charge on a number of fronts with cutting-edge litigation to advance legal precedent, providing life-changing legal services and spearheading critical initiatives like the Trans Health Project to transform the legal landscape and protect the rights of transgender and nonbinary people across the country.
Starting Monday, June 22, the public can visit the website to learn more about each organaization and ways to get involved.
Award-winning Pose is a drama spotlighting the legends, icons, and ferocious house mothers of New York’s underground ball culture, a movement that first gained notice in the late 1980s. Making television history, Pose features the largest cast of transgender actors in series regular roles and also features the largest recurring cast of LGBTQ actors ever for a scripted series. New episodes from the third season of Pose are coming soon on FX.
Pose was co-created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals, who executive produce alongside Janet Mock, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Alexis Martin Woodall, and Sherry Marsh. Our Lady J is co-executive producer. Tanase Popa is supervising producer. Lou Eyrich, Jeff Dickerson, and Kip Myers also serve as producers. The drama series is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios, a division of Disney Television Studios, and FX Productions.
