Ditto shows gay marriage support
Lead singer of indie rock band Gossip, Beth Ditto, is the latest high-profile supporter of marriage equality to lend her unique and powerful voice to the global equal rights movement.
During a recent concert in Paris, Gossip fans were witness to Ditto being given a t-shirt reading ‘Equal Marriage’ that was being worn by Equal Marriage Scotland director Lindsay England, who attended the show. During a performance of the song Standing in the Way of Control, Ditto promptly put the shirt on to loud cheers from the audience and wore it for the remainder of the set.
The song was written by Ditto in response to actions taken by former President Bush and opponents of marriage equality in the United States. The Gossip was performing their concert on November 6, the same day that voters in the US were electing their next president.
Ditto has never been an artist to shy away from expressing her views and support for LGBTI rights. Herself a lesbian, she has said of the song that she felt the need to spread messages of support and solidarity throughout the LGBTI community as their rights were being taken away.
“Nobody in the States was that surprised or shocked by what Bush did, but it made everyone I know feel helpless and cheated. I wrote the chorus to try and encourage people not to give up. It’s a scary time for civil rights, but I really believe the only way to survive is to stick together and keep fighting.”
A video of the performance can be seen below.
