gay.com & LGBT Equality

Rick Andreoli, Editor in Chief of gay.com and the newly launched gay.com daily talks with Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™. This new "daily" division of the website was created as a fun men's entertainment editorial site that offers daily pop culture news, who’s hot, fashion as well as hot button issues. When asked about his personal commitment to LGBT civil rights, Andreoli stated, “It’s interesting because I think people see gay.com and say ‘how does that tie into a commitment to LGBT civil rights?’ But what I have discovered and what has been very humbling for me is the amount of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people across the globe who type in ‘gay’ into their search engines and up comes gay.com. They suddenly realize through this site that there’s this giant, enormous community and for me it’s about creating awareness and a sense of community for these people. To give people who are in Small Town USA the understanding that you don’t have to leave that town if you love it and want to stay there, you can be gay in those towns. Or you can leave and there are other places and people who are dealing with the same stuff you are….I feel like that sort of awareness and sense of community is really the first step. You hear the stories of old activists who say ‘I thought I was the only one.’ The truth is when they found out they weren’t alone that’s where civil rights starts to grow and foster. I think that’s what we can bring to people both through my own work and through the website.” Rick Andreoli's words have also appeared in “The Advocate”, “Los Angeles Confidential”, “CARGO Magazine”, and “Metrosource”. Rick also comes from an extensive background in entertainment. He started his career as a development executive, working on projects with MTV, HBO, Miramax, Warner Bros. and many other studios. We had a chance to discuss when we might see more LGBT story lines in the movies and on TV. Andreoli lives and works in Los Angeles with his husband, Steve Thompson. They were legally married in California prior to the passing of Prop 8. For More Info: gay.com

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