After Suicide of Tyler Clementi, Ellen DeGeneres Speaks Out Against Bullying

By PopEater Staff Posted Oct 1st 2010 08:02AM

Ellen DeGeneres was so devastated by the suicide of Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi, an 18-year old Rutgers freshman who wound up being outed during a ruthless Internet prank, that she took a moment to speak about against the growing crisis of bullying in this country.

"He was outed as being gay on the Internet and he killed himself. Something must be done," says DeGeneres. "This needs to be a wakeup call to everyone that teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic in this country and the death rate is climbing."

Ellen also mentions other teens lost -- Seth Walsh, Asher Brown and Billy Lucas.

"One life lost in this senseless way is tragic. Four lives lost is a crisis," she says

"My heart is breaking for their families, for their friends and for our society that continues to let this happen ... We can't let intolerance and ignorance take another kid's life."

Ellen continues: "I want anyone out there who feels different and alone to know that I know how you feel. There is help out there. You can find support in your community. If you need someone to talk to or if you want to get involved, here are some organizations doing great work." Her Website lists the resources as well.

Rutgers freshmen students Dharun Ravi, 18, of Plainsboro, N.J., and Molly Wei, 18, of Princeton, N.J., have been charged with two counts each of invasion of privacy for using a camera to view and transmit a live image of Clementi on Sept. 19. Clementi, a resident of Ridgewood, N.J., was a freshman at the university and Ravi's roommate.

his undated photo from Facebook shows Tyler Clementi.

Ravi has also been charged with two additional counts of invasion of privacy for allegedly attempting to use the camera to view and transmit another encounter involving Clementi (on the left in his Facebook photo) on Sept. 21.

Rutgers police said their probe began after they learned that a camera had been placed in a student's dorm room without his permission.

Clementi is believed to have jumped off the George Washington Bridge on Thursday. His wallet was found on the bridge and his car was located nearby.

Tags: ellen degeneres

Comments

(53)

Friday 01 October

By Nancy

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So glad that Ellen is raising the topic of bullying.

So much unhealthy things are pushed in front of young children these days!

It has gotten out of hand. Am finding the reasons for the suicides disturbing and linked to the choking game they play.

Very sad to hear.

By jnzcram

As sad as this death was one must surmise the victim was no doubt unbalanced and almost anything would eventually be found as an excuse for him to kill himself.

By RAS

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NO ONE CAUSE THIS KID DEATH,,HE END HIS LIFE,,PERIOD,,HEY HE SHOULD HAVE STAYED IN THE CLOSET,,ITS MUCH SAFER THERE,,

By Robert

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This was a prank that turned tragic because the kid was insecure and self hating. It most certainly wasn't a "hate crime", especially since the guy had no idea the other was gay.

bleeblub

By Peggy

All of you haters and trash talkers are disgusting and need to take your hatred elsewhere. What they did was against the law and I hope they get the harshest sentence possible. Gay people have feelings, have a heart (unlike you haters) are productive responsible people just like non gays. God Bless Ellen for what she does for everyone, gay or not. Watch her show and you will see what a kind hearted person she is and how she is always giving to others and she does it because of the kind of person she is, not for any other reason. My heart goes out to this young man as well as all of the others and their families who have had to deal with bullys. It needs to stop and parents need to take stronger action with the schools as it is happening in elementary as well as all the way up through college. Bullys need to be arrested and sentenced just like any other criminal.

By bob rinaldi

I just hope degeneres isn't the francis cardinal spellman of daytime tv

By Dave B

Some of you people on here disgust me.

What you don't get is that he couldn't help the way he was, and maybe he wasn't ready for the whole world to have a full face view of himself making out with a guy broadcast to hundreds of Twitter followers who would easily spread the word about him . . .

This is so so sad and I hope at least a few bigots out there step back and take a moment to reflect . . .

Saturday 02 October

By Linda

The behaviors that Tyler and so many other youth are confronted with goes well beyond "bullying." It is mean-spirited, humiliating, traumatizing cruelty. How would we label a situation in which a live video stream was broadcast of someone changing clothes in a dressing room without his or her knowledge? I agree that we have an epidemic of cruelty and abuse in our culture and hope this horrific tragedy leads to constructive solutions. God bless Tyler and all those who are victims of such senseless cruelty.

By sstopsign

Bullying is happening at every age level. There are bullies in the workplace and there is no limit to what they will do.

A mature person might be able to avoid suicide after these attacks but they are wounded through the malicious impact of adult bullies.

Please let's keep our focus on the behavior of bullies regardless of their age. This type of behavior is running rampant in our country.

By Sue Donimm

We are all God's children. Do we really believe that heterosexuals living lives that result in tormenting others on life's path are somehow validated in their twisted behavior solely because of their "straight" orientation? This flies in the face of logic. Homosexuality is genetic and therefore God's creation whether we understand it or not. God help us with all this technology and a souless generation.

Sunday 03 October

By themightyabelard

If Americans were not so terrified of sex, this wouldn't have happened. People in this country act as if sexuality is the only thing that makes us who we are-not true! It's but one of the many things that make up a person's identity.
And this mindless labelling-'straight'/'gay'-which pretends that
bisexual and celibate folks don't exist...even more stupid.
Tyler was a gifted musician-so slap the label 'violinist' on him and you know something vital about him.
All those kids who destroy themselves because of our cultural imperative in re: labelling without ever actually THINKING would be alive today if we were in the habit of turning off our tvs and using our minds in a constructive manner.

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