Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy is joining other queer celebrities for a campaign designed by online underwear retailer MeUndies. The “Celebrate Yourself” campaign is hoping to raise money for the Los Angeles LGBT Center; MeUndies will donate $1 for every sale of its new polka dot briefs to the Center. 

 

The Center’s Chief Marketing Officer Jim Key said that partnering with an underwear company made sense because "we lift, support and comfort people of all types and ages."

 

"We met with the Los Angeles LGBT Center and learned more about what they do, the vital services they provide as well as a lot of the issues that they are facing," said MeUndies Creative Director Andrew Teague. "When they told us that between 60 and 70% of their funding comes from federal grants, and that most of that money is now under threat from our current political leadership, it galvanized us even further to make these undies and this campaign mean something."

 

For Kenworthy, it was not only a chance to help a good cause, but also an opportunity to celebrate being out and proud.

 

“It’s about trying to just embrace the things that make me different and the things that make me unique, and not allow myself to be dictated by other people’s expectations,” he explained. “I think on the most stripped back, grassroots level, the way that I celebrate myself is just being proud of who I am walking down the street holding my boyfriend’s hand, living my life unapologetically.”

 

 

Musician Hayley Kiyoko also joined the campaign.

 

“In the artist community, we do have a responsibility to use our platform to spread messages of hope and acceptance,” Kiyoko said. "Whether or not someone decides to do that is their choice, but I’ve always used my art as a way to bring people together -- if you could call that political.”