As former Disney star Hilary Duff continues her pop comeback, she has also been reflecting on the work she did as a child, including her 2008 appearance in an iconic “That’s So Gay” PSA against homophobia and bullying.

“I think I was just asked if I was interested in being in the PSA and if I cared about the topic at hand and, of course, I did,” Duff told Gay Times. “It was really impactful and I remember loads and loads and loads of kids coming up to me, just saying, ‘Thank you.'”

Related

Hilary Duff recreates her iconic “That’s so gay” PSA against bullying

The PSA depicts Duff telling two teenage girls to avoid saying “that’s so gay” as a pejorative phrase. “It’s insulting. What if every time something was bad, everybody said, ugh that’s so girl wearing a skirt as a top?” Duff says in the clip.

Reflecting on it now, she said she thinks gay kids “felt represented and stood up for and at that time, and in this time, it’s really important to feel safe and feel seen. It hit social media when social media became a thing and it took on these massive legs and people realized what a funny angle it was. But it still means so much to so many people and it’s still the right message.”

Never Miss a Beat

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

She then got emotional speaking about how LGBTQ+ rights are still at risk and the bullying and marginalization the community still endures.

“It actually makes me want to cry, sorry,” she said. “I feel sad that we’re in the place that we’re in. It’s 2026, and who cares how anybody wants to be? Nobody’s bothering you. And I wish more people lived their life that way and just let everyone be who they wanna be and be happy and be loved.”

She said she isn’t sure how she would rewrite the PSA for today because she is holding “too much anger,” which is “not the way to spread the message, either.”

“It bums me out that people can hate others, you know, for being gay or the color of their skin or the choices that they make,” she said. It makes me so sad.”

After the ad came out over a decade ago, Duff spoke to CNN about her decision to appear in the PSA.

“We are just not kind enough to each other, and there is no reason why kids should go to school and it not be a safe place for them or they should not be accepted,” Duff said at the time.

“I have plenty of gay friends that I love to death,” she added, “and would never want to say or do anything to hurt their feelings, but I think it’s a term we’ve just gotten used to saying… It’s important to just be more conscientious of what you say and know that it could really be hurting someone.”

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.