shout out

Billy Eichner calls out “homophobe” Clarence Thomas in fiery, full-volume VMAs speech

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Billy Eichner‘s big breakthrough came from the frantic and funny Billy On The Street, a series in which he was known for shouting furiously at anyone and everyone who crossed his path.

Well, he channeled some of that Billy On The Street energy last night on stage at MTV’s Video Music Awards when we was brought out to introduce a musical performance form Panic! At The Disco.

Never has that exclamation mark felt so appropriate.

Related: Billy Eichner reveals his first encounter with homophobia came from his own manager

Looking fantastic in a sheer black top (running around New York yelling at strangers is great cardio), Eichner kicked things off by hyping up his highly anticipated movie, Bros. Despite having a mic in hand, the star began to yell at full volume about his history-making flick.

He reminded everyone that it’s the “first gay rom-com ever made by a major studio” and “the first where every role is played by an openly LGBTQ actor.” And the crowd went wild.

And things only got louder from there as Eichner began to spin his movie plug into a tirade against the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade—and threatened to do the same for same-sex marriage.

“And I need you all there in theaters on September 30 because we need to show all the homophobes like Clarence Thomas…” he shouted, pausing for applause and to catch his breath. “… And all the homophobes on the Supreme Court that we want gay love stories and we support LGBTQ people!”

The guy sure knows how to promote a movie!

“And we are not letting them drag us back into the last century!,” he continued in his outside voice. “Because they are in the past, and Bros is in the future!”

Related: Lori Lightfoot just said what everyone else is thinking about Clarence Thomas

In other words, heading to the movie theater to see Bros is a form of activism!

We joke, but it was great to have someone take to that stage and call out the hateful, regressive decisions of the Supreme Court so directly. Especially in a VMAs show that otherwise made time for things like an uncomfortable Johnny Depp cameo and otherwise existed in a weird moral grey area.

With Bros hitting theaters just a little over a month away, we imagine this is just the first of many impassioned press stops Eichner will be making, and we’re eager to see him keep up the momentum. We just hope he remembers to get some vocal rest every now and again.

Bros hits theaters on September 30. You can watch its official trailer below.

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