Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds spoke out for LGBTQ equality (above) at the Love Loud Festival Sunday night at the Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. The festival supports LGBTQ charities.
Reynolds spoke at the end of an Imagine Dragons set before launching into the track “Believer”.
Said Reynolds. “We’ve got one last song for you. We love you. We love you. To our LGBTQ youth, stay with us every day. We need you, we love you, we accept you. Your love is valid, it’s pure, it’s true, it’s beautiful. We stand with you. Love Loud will be here. We’re just going to stay here. Thank you for raising over a million dollars tonight. Peace, love, equality. We’ll see you again soon.”
Reynolds, a straight Mormon, is the subject of the new documentary Believer, directed by Don Argott (DeLorean, Batman & Bill, The Art of the Steal), which follows Reynolds as he explores how the LDS church treats its LGBTQ members.
The doc, which premiered at Sundance, began airing on HBO this summer.
Reynolds told Billboard in 2017: “One of the reasons I’ve felt such a need to speak out on this is I’ve gotten countless emails and letters from fans around the world who said, ‘I’m gay, but I know you’re Mormon so that probably means you don’t accept my lifestyle, but I love ‘It’s Time’ and your music.’ That was devastating and it broke my heart to get letters like that. I’ve written back to these people to tell them, “No, I do support you and I’m here for you.” It’s been a driving force for me to raise awareness and make a difference and not just sit back to let people feel that hurt. “It’s Time” reached a lot in a lot of different ways.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook also spoke at the concert: “I stand before you tonight as an uncle, a sports nut, a CEO, a lover of the beautiful Utah outdoors, and a proud gay American. I’ve come to deliver a simple message that I want every LGBTQ person to hear and to believe: You are a gift to the world, a unique and special gift just the way you are. Your life matters. To you I say, find your truth, speak your truth, live your truth.”
Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE1EKuFvca0
