Planned Parenthood taps these A-listers for star-studded pledge: See the celeb supporters
Planned Parenthood is beefing up its roster of celebrity supporters.
In a full-page ad that ran in The New York Times May 21, the organization looped together 250 well-known signatories under the phrase "I'm For Planned Parenthood."
Included on the list were young internet tastemakers like Addison Rae, Drew Afualo and Brittany Broski, and Hollywood veterans like Busy Philipps, Kerry Washington and Charlize Theron.
Ella Emhoff, the daughter of former first gentleman Doug Emhoff, also added her name to the list, as did a host of male celebrities including Harry Styles, Jon Cryer, Billy Eichner and George Lopez. Megan Thee Stallion and Olivia Rodrigo, both vocal supporters of abortion access, also signed the list.
Planned Parenthood, which is made up of a constellation of nonprofits, is the single largest provider of sexual and reproductive care for people in the United States. An oft-attacked organization, it lies in the cross-hairs of a long-contentious national debate over access to abortion and a nascent one on gender affirming care.
"Trans people need health care providers they can trust, just like everyone else. Planned Parenthood health centers are a lifeline for so many across this country who rely on them for inclusive care," actress and activist Laverne Cox, who also signed the ad, said in a release. "I'm for Planned Parenthood because they provide a space for queer people to feel safe, supported, and affirmed in who they truly are."
While the organization provides an array of services, it is perhaps best known for supplying contraception and abortion services – a controversial act that has become even more so in the wake of the Dobbs decision, a Supreme Court ruling which overturned Roe v. Wade and the federal right to terminate pregnancy.
The ad warned that "Americans are losing more and more of our freedom to decide how we live our own lives," in a seeming reference to the patchwork of restrictive abortion laws across the country, and touted the people, "not the government … deciding what care we need and where we can go to get it."
In adding their names to the ad, the celebrities are lending their star power to the cause, a decision with a certain amount of political potency as abortion and gender affirming care continue to be hot-button issues.
Among the other big names to sign the ad were comedians Alison Brie, Amber Ruffin and Aidy Bryant as well as "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and '80s hitmaker Cyndi Lauper.
Shonda Rhimes also added her name as did Ellen Pompeo, the star of her hit show "Grey's Anatomy." The list spanned the sports, music, television and activism spheres, pulling together an incongruous club of cultural icons.