Charity Single for Orlando Victims Helps Support GLAAD

July 7th, 2016 9:51 AM

In response to the horrific Orlando shooting last month, two dozen celebrities have jointly recorded a charity single to benefit the recovering victims, a Florida LGBT community center ... and gay speech police organization GLAAD. 

Hands” was co-written by Justin Tranter, a gay artist who has contributed to work by Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. The Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, several LGBT vocalists and twenty-four stars including Britney Spears and Meghan Trainor contributed to the production. The song was then released for purchase on July 6, sparking instant plaudits from Cosmo, E! News, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone and Billboard.

“Hands,” which Rolling Stone writer Brittany Spanos called “tender” and “anthemic,” includes the following stanzas: 

"Doesn't matter who you love,  
All that matters is you love." 
 
"I've been watching news and seeing all this hate.
Tell me is it wrong to want a little change?"

Later in the song, a verse appeared to subtly jab Donald Trump:

 

"If a million hands can build a wall, a million hands can break it down."

Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD’s president, responded to “Hands” by commenting: “Artists using their platforms to accelerate acceptance is very powerful." You got that right.

In an article about the release, Billboard’s Deborah Wilker wrote: “While politicians and lobbyists have focused in recent weeks on Islamic terror and familiar narratives about gun ownership, Ellis, Tranter and others in the LGBT community want people to remember that this was a hate crime.”

Yes, Ms. Wilker, it was a hate crime. But Omar Mateen also pledged allegiance to ISIS multiple times. It was a hate crime inspired by radical Islam.