Sade Giliberti features in new film about LGBTQ cyberbullying

TV personality, Sade Giliberti, appears in a new short film, Bully, that addresses cyberbullying and how it affects the LGBTQ community, according to the Huffington Post.

What is the film Bully about?

Jake Graf, the director of the powerful short film is also a campaigner for equal LGBTQ rights, made this film to educate people on how words can affect lives in real-time.

As a trans man, Jake has expressed how this type of bullying affected his marriage, adding that “even after my wedding, my wife Hannah and I were [seen as] just freaks, that were both mentally ill”.

How did Sade Giliberti get involved in the film Bully?

Sade, who has been very open about her sexuality from as early as when she was a presenter at SABC’s Yo-TV, felt that being part of this film was one of the most important things she has ever had to do.

For her, it was a no-brainer because bullying is cowardice. She added that “there is always an instant feeling of hurt, and wondering what you ever did wrong to that person. But, I’ve realised that people who hide behind avatars and troll people’s profiles have deeper issues, and retaliate to make themselves feel better”.

Who else features in Bully?

The film features other prominent guests in the LGBTQ community, like Riyahd Khalaf who is a popular YouTuber. He felt that moving away from real life’s cruelties and turning to YouTube would protect him people picking on him.

He thought that the platform would allow him the creative and safe space to express himself, not knowing that cyberbullying had gotten much worse. “I didn’t understand how someone could hate me so much”, he says, “and for something I could not control – my sexuality, how I spoke, how I moved”.

The charity organisation, Stonewall, recently revealed that last month alone, at least one in ten LGBTQ people have been subjected to online bullying. It also revealed that it is twice as bad for trans people, as at least one in four of them are victims of cyberbullying.