It’s been nearly twenty years since that famous anti-bullying ad, but Duff is talking about it again. In a recent interview, she felt a little choked up when she looked at the message behind the public service announcement.
Issues you addressed? This is still here. And it’s still personal. Duff recalled why the campaign was important at the time, how important it was to her young fans, and why combating bullying and hate language is just as important today as it was then.
Hilary Duff talks about her “Think Before You Speak” campaign.
Duff recently sat down with Gay Times and talked about her whole experience doing the Think Before You Speak campaign. In 2008, she filmed a public service announcement as part of the campaign, in collaboration with GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network).
At the time, the phrase “that’s so gay” was so ubiquitous, teens would say it all the time without thinking about how harmful it really was.Duff explained how she got involved: Basically, someone asked her if she was interested in the issue and wanted to be part of the project. “I think I was just asked if I would be interested in participating in PSAs and if I cared about the topic at hand, and of course I did,” Duff replied.Duff recalled how many children would come up to her to say thank you, telling her they finally felt supported and encouraged.
“I think they felt represented and defended at that time, and in this time, it’s really important to feel safe and feel seen,” Duff recalls.As for the PSA itself, it was simple but powerful. In the ad, Duff overhears two women in a store, one of whom describes a business leader as “so gay.” Duff intervened, yelled at her, and told them not to use the word “gay” as an insult because that was not acceptable. The video concludes with her voice over: “When you say ‘that’s so gay,’ do you realize what you’re saying? Stop talking.”
The main goal was to show how hurtful everyday words can be, and to make people think before they speak.The campaign was a big deal. It even won a Golden Buzzer, and years later, it’s still going viral on TikTok. People have been fooled by that, sure, but Duff knows it still means a lot. “It’s still the right message,” she said.While talking about all this, Duff was visibly upset. The subject matter makes her really angry and sad too. She even apologized for tearing it up.
“It’s 2026, and who cares how anyone wants to be? No one bothers you. I just wish people would let everyone be who they want to be, be happy, and be loved.” It’s that simple for her.Duff revealed that what really matters to her is that people still judge and hate others for who they are, their identity, their skin color, and their choices. “It bothers me,” she said. “It makes me so sad.”The “So Yesterday” singer also feels frustrated by the persistence of bias.
If she had to write a PSA now, Duff admitted she would need to think about it, as she feels very angry about the whole thing, but she knows “that’s not the way to get the message out there either.”Who is Hilary Duff?For the uninitiated, Hilary Duff first rose to fame as Lizzie McGuire on the Disney Channel, making her a huge name in the early 2000s. She has since achieved success as an actress and pop singer, plus she has always been involved in charitable causes such as youth programs, disaster relief, anti-bullying efforts, and more. And that public service announcement “Think before you speak”? This moment still stands out as one of the most memorable moments of her activism.
