Tim Cook made an appearance at Utah’s 2018 LoveLoud festival over the weekend, sharing a few thoughts with the crowd before introducing the band Imagine Dragons.
LoveLoud is a music festival celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. During his tenure as Apple CEO, Tim Cook has been a proud and outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. Watch his comments to the crowd below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE1EKuFvca0
Speaking out for the LGBT community
In his introduction, Cook said that those in the audience are a “gift to the world,” and should not feel that they need to try and be, “what someone else thinks is normal.” Cook then described himself as an, “uncle, a sports nut, a CEO, a lover of the beautiful Utah outdoors, and a proud, gay American.”
In addition to speaking on stage, Cook also took pictures with people attempting the event, and signed autographs. In all, the LoveLoud event raised $1 million for LGBTQ youth organizations.
“Tim Cook joining us in Utah for LoveLoud sends a clear message to LGBTQ youth that they have unlimited potential to achieve their dreams,” Dan Reynolds, lead singer of Imagine Dragons — which founded the event — said in a statement ahead of the event. “Tim is an unwavering advocate for human rights and equality, and we’re thrilled he’ll be joining our powerful line-up of speakers and performers.”
Tim Cook famously came out as gay several years ago. Since then, he has even had an LGBT anti-discrimination bill named after him, and been publicly critical of discriminatory laws that “rationalize injustice.” While Apple has long been a company in support of the LGBT community, it’s great to see Cook use his platform to speak out in this way.
Were you in attendance at LoveLoud? Did you meet Tim Cook? Let us know in the comments below.
