Stars join Lauper’s benefit concert for homeless youth
NEW YORK— Taylor Swift, Cher, Billie Eilish, LL Cool J and Dolly Parton added their voices to Cyndi Lauper’s annual concert to combat youth homelessness, an issue the singer says has only gotten worse during the pandemic.
“You can say, ‘Stay home, protect yourself.’ What do you do if you’ve got no home?” Lauper told The Associated Press. “I think it’s time that we make sure all young people have access to lifesaving services without fear of violence or discrimination.”
Her Home for the Holidays benefit concert premiered Friday on Lauper’s TikTok channel, with an additional stream at 8 p.m. Sunday on Lauper’s YouTube and Facebook pages. This year’s concert is free to watch, with donations encouraged.
The lineup also includes Adam Lambert, Amanda Shires & Jason Isbell, Bette Midler, Billy Porter, Boy George, Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, Carson Kressley, Harvey Fierstein, Henry Rollins, Jackson Browne, Judy Gold, Kim Petras, King Princess, Meg Myers, Phoebe Bridgers, Sharon Osbourne, Shea Diamond and Whoopi Goldberg.
Lauper, whose hits include “Girls Just
Want to Have Fun” and “Time After Time,” started the non-profit LGBTQ advocacy organization that would become True Colors United in 2008.
“We started True Colors 12 years ago on a tour bus,” Lauper said. “We never thought we would be here, but here we are in 2020,” a year she calls “a critical moment in history.”
Lauper pointed to statistics that show up to 40 per cent of the 4.2 million youth experiencing homelessness in America are LGBTQ. In addition, a study by the University of Chicago found LGBTQ young people are120 per cent more likely to experience homelessness than non-LGBTQ youth.
“I just think that safe and stable housing is one of the best types of health care,” said Lauper. “It’s a global problem that really demands boldness and empathy from people.”
This year, True Colors United partnered with the United Nations Human Rights Office for a campaign that includes an animated PSA, with voiceover by Lauper.
“Just the fact that an international organization as big as the UN actually sees and understands that LGBTQ plus homelessness is a real issue worldwide is huge,” she said.