The White House enlisted the help of some of Hollywood’s leading men to star in a public service announcement aimed at curbing sexual assault on college campuses.
The release of the minute-long ad accompanied the administration’s proposed guidelines for colleges to combat sexual assault on college campuses on Tuesday.
Titled “1 is 2 Many,” the ad features an all-male cast including actors Daniel Craig, Benicio del Toro, Steve Carell, Dulé Hill from The West Wing and Late Night host Seth Meyers, along with President Obama and Vice President Biden.
“If she doesn’t consent or can’t consent, it’s rape, it’s assault, it’s a crime,” the actors narrate. “If I saw it happening, I was taught you have to do something about it. If I saw it happening, I speak up. If I saw it happening, I’d never blame her, I’d help her.”
The PSA’s message encourages men to help the female victims of sexual assault — “our sisters, our daughters, our wives and our friends” — by speaking up and helping them instead of standing by and doing nothing or blaming the victims.
“It’s up to all of us to put an end to sexual assault and that starts with you,” says President Obama in the ad.
Last year, the 1 is 2 Many campaign released its first video with Eli Manning, Jeremy Lin, Jimmy Rollins, Evan Longoria, David Beckham, Joe Torre and Andy Katz.
On Tuesday, Vice President Biden presented the results of the new report by the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault and urged campus communities to “no longer turn a blind eye” to the issue. “Only 13% of college rape victims report crime to campus police or local law enforcement,” Biden said. “They don’t report for a number of reasons. They fear that they’ll be shamed, they’re embarrassed, they’re scared they won’t be able to be safe on campus with their attacker roaming around or maybe sitting in the same history class.” Biden said personally reached out the actors to participate in the video. “I’m not used to making calls to big old movie stars,” he said. “But I called them. And every one of them said immediately, ‘What can I do?’” “The message is clear and simple; everyone has a responsibility,” said Daniel Craig in a statement released by The White House. “There are no exceptions. There are no excuses. Please watch it and pass it on.”
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