Jamey Rodemeyer
Encyclopedia
Jamey Rodemeyer was an openly gay
teenager, known for his activism
against homophobia
and his videos on YouTube
to help victims of bullying. He took his own life as a result of the constant bullying he faced. Rodemeyer has since become a symbol of bullied adolescents and teenagers who identify as being gay.
. He also had one sister, Alyssa Rodemeyer. He was openly gay, and faced severe bullying as a result of it.
Rodemeyer's inspiration to help others came from his biggest idol, Lady Gaga
. He often referred to her in his videos and quoted her lyrics to provide guidance to others.
under the username xgothemo99xx, in order to help others that were experiencing similar situations. He also notably made a video for the "It Gets Better
" project, a website dedicated to preventing teen suicide.
. Prior to his death, he posted a final update on Twitter
, which was directed toward Lady Gaga. The tweet read, "@ladygaga bye mother monster, thank you for all you have done, paws up forever".
records. Although evidence of criminal harassment was found, these incidents either had insufficient evidence to prosecute or were expired beyond the statute of limitations
. The investigation closed without any charges being filed.
The news of Jamey's death resulted in outrage by supporters all around the world. Following his death, Tim and Tracy Rodemeyer were interviewed by various news outlets about their son and his struggles against bullying. Both parents took the opportunities to promote peace and equality, in the hopes of preventing occurrences similar to this one from happening in the future.
In an interview with Ann Curry
on The Today Show
, Jamey's parents admitted that their son was still being bullied, even after his suicide. When his sister attended a school homecoming dance, Jamey's friends began chanting his name in support when a Lady Gaga song began playing. As a result, bullies at the dance began chanting that they were glad he was dead.
Upon learning of his death, Lady Gaga stated that she was extremely upset over the situation, spending her days "reflecting, crying and yelling". She went on to dedicate her song "Hair
" to Jamey during a performance at the iHeartRadio
music festival at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, saying, "I wrote this record about how your identity is really all you've got when you're in school...so tonight, Jamey, I know you're up there looking at us and you're not a victim. You're a lesson to all of us. I know it's a bit of a downer, but sometimes the right thing is more important than the music." Lady Gaga later met with President Barack Obama
to discuss what his administration would do to prevent bullying in schools.
Also in response to his death, reigning Miss New York
Kaitlin Monte founded an online petition to bring the issue of cyberbullying aka Jamey's Law in front of New York lawmakers. Shortly after, State Senator Jeffrey Klein
proposed new cyberbullying legislation. The two partnered to launch the New York Cyberbully Census
In October 2011, actor Zachary Quinto
noted Rodemeyer's death as the genesis of his decision to come out
publicly as gay, saying on his official website, "but in light of Jamey's death – it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it – is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality."
In response to Zachary Quinto's coming out and also in reaction to gay suicides caused by bullying, Dan Kloeffler
of ABC News Now
also came out.
That same month, another teenager, Jamie Hubley, was reported to have committed suicide for the same reason, being bullied for being openly gay. While he never explicitly talked about Rodemeyer, comparisons have been drawn.
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
teenager, known for his activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
against homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
and his videos on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
to help victims of bullying. He took his own life as a result of the constant bullying he faced. Rodemeyer has since become a symbol of bullied adolescents and teenagers who identify as being gay.
Personal life
Jamey T. Rodemeyer lived with his parents, Tim and Tracy Rodemeyer, in their home outside of Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. He also had one sister, Alyssa Rodemeyer. He was openly gay, and faced severe bullying as a result of it.
Rodemeyer's inspiration to help others came from his biggest idol, Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
. He often referred to her in his videos and quoted her lyrics to provide guidance to others.
Activism
Rodemeyer was openly gay and encountered bullying almost entirely throughout middle school because of it. Anonymously posted comments on his Formspring account included hate messages such as, "I wouldn't care if you died. No one would. So just do it :) It would make everyone WAY more happier!". Despite this, he used his experiences to make videos on YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
under the username xgothemo99xx, in order to help others that were experiencing similar situations. He also notably made a video for the "It Gets Better
It Gets Better
It Gets Better is an Internet-based project founded in the United States by Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller on September 21, 2010, in response to the suicides of teenagers who were bullied because they were gay or because their peers suspected that they were gay...
" project, a website dedicated to preventing teen suicide.
Death
Rodemeyer was found dead by his sister the morning of September 18, 2011 in an apparent hanging suicideSuicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Prior to his death, he posted a final update on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, which was directed toward Lady Gaga. The tweet read, "@ladygaga bye mother monster, thank you for all you have done, paws up forever".
Aftermath
The Amherst Police Department launched a criminal investigation after the death of Jamey Rodemeyer, assisted by the Erie County District Attorney, Frank A. Sedita III. The investigation lasted 9 weeks, and included analysis of Jamey's home computer and mobile phoneMobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
records. Although evidence of criminal harassment was found, these incidents either had insufficient evidence to prosecute or were expired beyond the statute of limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
. The investigation closed without any charges being filed.
The news of Jamey's death resulted in outrage by supporters all around the world. Following his death, Tim and Tracy Rodemeyer were interviewed by various news outlets about their son and his struggles against bullying. Both parents took the opportunities to promote peace and equality, in the hopes of preventing occurrences similar to this one from happening in the future.
In an interview with Ann Curry
Ann Curry
Ann Curry is an American television news journalist and co-anchor on NBC's morning television program Today. She is the former news anchor on Today, a role she began in March 1997, and was the host of Dateline NBC from 2005-2011.Curry is a Board Member at the IWMF .-Biography:Curry was born in...
on The Today Show
The Today Show
Today is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...
, Jamey's parents admitted that their son was still being bullied, even after his suicide. When his sister attended a school homecoming dance, Jamey's friends began chanting his name in support when a Lady Gaga song began playing. As a result, bullies at the dance began chanting that they were glad he was dead.
Upon learning of his death, Lady Gaga stated that she was extremely upset over the situation, spending her days "reflecting, crying and yelling". She went on to dedicate her song "Hair
Hair (Lady Gaga song)
"Hair" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga, from her second studio album Born This Way . Written and produced by Gaga and RedOne, "Hair" was released worldwide digitally on May 16, 2011, as the only promotional single from the album, as part of the iTunes Store's "Countdown...
" to Jamey during a performance at the iHeartRadio
Iheartradio
iHeartRadio is a Clear Channel Radio network to aggregate local radio brands, personalities and on-demand content. It is best known as a mobile application...
music festival at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, saying, "I wrote this record about how your identity is really all you've got when you're in school...so tonight, Jamey, I know you're up there looking at us and you're not a victim. You're a lesson to all of us. I know it's a bit of a downer, but sometimes the right thing is more important than the music." Lady Gaga later met with President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
to discuss what his administration would do to prevent bullying in schools.
Also in response to his death, reigning Miss New York
Miss New York
The Miss New York competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of New York in the Miss America pageant. Miss New York has twice won the Miss America Crown. Also, when city representatives were common at the national pageant, Bess Myerson won as Miss New York City in...
Kaitlin Monte founded an online petition to bring the issue of cyberbullying aka Jamey's Law in front of New York lawmakers. Shortly after, State Senator Jeffrey Klein
Jeffrey Klein
Jeffrey David Klein is a New York State Senator representing parts of Bronx and Westchester Counties. He was elected to his first term in the Senate in 2004....
proposed new cyberbullying legislation. The two partnered to launch the New York Cyberbully Census
In October 2011, actor Zachary Quinto
Zachary Quinto
Zachary John Quinto is an American actor and producer. Quinto grew up in Pennsylvania and was active in high school musical theater. In the early 2000s he guest starred in television series and appeared in a recurring role in the serial drama 24 from 2003 to 2004...
noted Rodemeyer's death as the genesis of his decision to come out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
publicly as gay, saying on his official website, "but in light of Jamey's death – it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it – is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality."
In response to Zachary Quinto's coming out and also in reaction to gay suicides caused by bullying, Dan Kloeffler
Dan Kloeffler
Dan Kloeffler is an American television journalist. He has worked as an anchor on WSTM-TV, MSNBC, and, currently, ABC News.-Early life:Kloeffler graduated from Algonac High School in Algonac, Michigan, in 1994...
of ABC News Now
ABC News Now
ABC News Now is an American 24-hour news channel offered via digital television, broadband and streaming video at ABCNews.com and on mobile phones. It delivers breaking news, headline news each half hour, and wide range of entertainment and lifestyle programs. The channel is currently available in...
also came out.
That same month, another teenager, Jamie Hubley, was reported to have committed suicide for the same reason, being bullied for being openly gay. While he never explicitly talked about Rodemeyer, comparisons have been drawn.
External links
- It Gets Better, I promise! – the video Jamey Rodemeyer made for the "It Gets Better" project