FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2012
CONTACTS:
Brett Abrams : 516-841-1105 : brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com
High school junior Katy Butler started the campaign on Change.org after the MPAA issued an “R” rating for “Bully” by just one vote
More than 290,000 people have thrown their support behind Katy’s campaign, including a bipartisan group of 26 Members of Congress, and celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres, Demi Lovato, and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees
WASHINGTON, DC - Katy Butler, a bullied Michigan high school student who has mobilized nearly 300,000 people calling on the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to drop its “R” rating for the upcoming documentary “Bully,” will travel to Washington, DC this week to raise awareness about her campaign and to continue pressure on the MPAA to change its rating for the anti-bullying film.
WHO: Katy Butler, a 17-year-old bullied student who started a campaign on Change.org that has received support from nearly 300,000 individuals, urging the MPAA to drop its “R” rating for the film “Bully” and replace it with a “PG-13” rating.
WHAT: After the MPAA ruled by one vote that the upcoming documentary “Bully” should receive an “R” rating, Katy Butler started a petition on Change.org urging the MPAA to reconsider. According to Butler, the movie “Bully” needs to be seen by middle school students and high school students the most, given the epidemic of school bullying in the United States. An “R” rating, Butler says, will prevent that audience from being able to see the film. Butler, who was bullied so bad in middle school that bullies broke her finger during an assault, delivered more than 200,000 petition signatures to the MPAA’s office in Los Angeles last week, and her campaign continues to pick up supporters, including celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Drew Brees, as well as a bipartisan group of 26 Members of Congress, who have sent a letter to the MPAA in support of Butler’s petition.
WHEN: Katy Butler will be in Washington, DC from Thursday, March 15 -- Saturday March 17, 2012
PETITION: Katy Butler’s petition can be viewed at www.change.org/bully
Live signature totals from Katy Butler’s campaign (and comments from signers):
http://www.change.org/bully
Rep. Mike Honda’s Congressional sign-on letter to the MPAA:
http://honda.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1170:supporting-bullying-awareness&catid=16:blog-posts&Itemid=357
Katy Butler appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (March 7):
http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2012/03/ellen_discusses_bully_0307.php
Katy Butler appearance on FOX & Friends (March 6):
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-friends/index.html#/v/1491016262001/teen-stands-up-to-bullies-petitions-mpaa/?playlist_id=86912
Journalists interested in contacting the MPAA should try:
Joan Graves
Head of the Classification and Rating Administration, MPAA
Joan_Graves@mpaa.org
(818) 995-6600
Howard Gantman
Vice President of Corporate Communications, MPAA
Howard_Gantman@mpaa.org
(818) 995-6600
For more information on Change.org, please visit:
http://www.change.org/about
