Bullied high schooler convinces MPAA to change ?Bully? rating to ?PG-13?

Director Lee Hirsch and The Weinstein Company have announced that the documentary ?Bully? will receive a ?PG-13? rating from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) after more than 500,000 people, including 35 Members of Congress and celebrities like Ellen Degeneres and Meryl Streep, joined a campaign on Change.org started by a bullied high school student.
Katy Butler, a 17 year-old student from Michigan who experienced extensive bullying when she came out as a lesbian in middle school, launched a petition on Change.org after learning that the MPAA had rejected an appeal to change the rating of "Bully" from "R" to "PG-13" so students could see the film.
Following news of the rating change, Butler issued a thank you to those who supported her campaign: ?On behalf of the more than half a million supporters who joined me on Change.org in petitioning the MPAA, I want to express how grateful I am not only to the MPAA for lowering the rating without cutting a vital scene, but to all of the people who used their voices to put a national spotlight on this movie and its mission,? said Butler.
Butler?s campaign on Change.org attracted support from major international celebrities, with Ellen DeGeneres and Anderson Cooper inviting Butler to appear on their shows and urging their viewers to support her petition. In addition, Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Demi Lovato, Randy Jackson, Kelly Ripa, Justin Bieber, Drew Brees, and several other celebrities all encouraged their fans to sign Katy?s petition or show support to ?Bully."
Butler?s petition also gained support from 35 Members of Congress, who endorsed a congressional sign-on letter issued by Rep. Mike Honda (D-California) urging the MPAA to change ?Bully?s? rating from ?R? to ?PG-13.? Leader Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand also tweeted their support for Katy's campaign to their followers on Twitter.
Butler started her petition on Change.org because she thought it was ridiculous that the "R" rating -- given for coarse, but real words used by bullies in the film -- was keeping the target audience from seeing this film: bullies and bully victims.
?The brief usage of language in this film reflects what so many kids hear each day in school when they?re being bullied," said Butler.
To view Katy Butler's Change.org petition, click here.
To view a Washington Post profile of Katy Butler, click here.
To view Katy Butler?s appearance on CBS This Morning, click here.�
To view Katy Butler?s appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, click here.
To view Katy Butler?s appearance on FOX & Friends, click here.
Photo credit: Change.org

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