Nov 7, 2008 5:53 pm US/Pacific
Hollywood Joins Furor Over Gay Marriage Ban
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
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Musician Melissa Etheridge.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Thousands of protesters are angry about California's ban on gay marriage—and so are the stars.
Many celebrities grieved the passing of Proposition 8 in California this week. Some—such as Wanda Sykes, Rose McGowan and Lance Bass—attended a Wednesday protest criticizing the state's gay marriage ban. Others—like Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O'Donnell, Madonna and Melissa Etheridge—vented their frustrations online, on TV, and onstage.
Blocks away from the Thursday rally of more than 2,000 gay-rights advocates outside the gates of a Mormon temple, several stars—including James Cromwell, Patricia Clarkson, Anjelica Huston and Sean Penn—said they supported the protesters while walking the red carpet at the BAFTA L.A. Brittania Awards at Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.
"I think it might be an idea to go out and join them shortly," Penn said. "It was a shameful decision that was made."
Etheridge, who exchanged vows with her longtime partner in a 2003 ceremony, declared in a blog entry posted Thursday on TheDailyBeast.com that she wouldn't pay her taxes. The gay Oscar-and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter said that without the right to marry in California, she didn't think she should have to pay taxes because "I am not a full citizen."
"I don't mean to get too personal here," Etheridge wrote. "But there is a lot I can do with the extra half a million dollars that I will be keeping instead of handing it over to the state of California. Oh, and I am sure Ellen will be a little excited to keep her bazillion bucks that she pays in taxes, too."
DeGeneres, on her show and the show's Web site, provided a brief message of support Friday for President-elect Obama and the gay-rights advocates protesting Proposition 8. The talk show host, who married actress Portia de Rossi in August, previously donated $100,000 against the ballot initiative and starred in a commercial lamenting the measure.
"So there was a demonstration here on Wednesday night," DeGeneres told the audience, "and just before I walked out here, I was watching the news and there is a huge, huge, peaceful demonstration going on in the streets, and I say, good for you, and I support you, and if I weren't here, I'd be out there with you."
O'Donnell, who lives in New York, responded to comments and questions about her stance on the issue on her Web site. When one person said he understood why she didn't come out against the proposition, O'Donnell responded: "I AM AGAINST PROP 8. DUH." She also wrote she believes the estimated 18,000 gay marriages would be annulled "like mine was years ago."
The former talk show host, who lives with partner Kelli Carpenter and their four children, publicly wed Carpenter in San Francisco in 2004, two weeks after Mayor Gavin Newsom authorized granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
California's 1st Same-Sex Marriage
Election Results - Proposition 8
Exit Poll: Black, Religious Voters Backed Prop. 8
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