Demi Lovato voices support for gender-inclusive bathrooms

Demi Lovato proudly showed her support for gender inclusive bathrooms during her performance at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday (22May16).

Lawmakers in North Carolina have been under fire for the past couple of months after the House Bill 2 (HB2) was passed, an order which prevents transgender men and women from using bathrooms aligned with their gender identity.

Since the bill was made official in March (16), a number of celebrities opposed to HB2 and scheduled to make appearances throughout the state have cancelled their gigs in protest of the law.

Bruce Springsteen led the charge by axing his concert in Greensboro last month (Apr16), and soon after, musicians such as Ringo Starr, Pearl Jam, Boston, and 98 Degrees all nixed planned shows in North Carolina.

The singer along with pal Nick Jonas, were slated to bring their 2016 Honda Civic Tour Featuring Demi Lovato & Nick Jonas: Future Now to Charlotte and Raleigh on 30 June and 2 July (16), respectively, but they also decided to pull out of the gigs to show their support for their LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) friends and fans.

At the time, Demi wrote in a statement issued to officials at media organisation GLAAD: "North Carolina's discriminatory HB2 law is extremely disappointing, and it takes away some of the LGBT community's most basic rights and protections. But we will not allow this to stop us from continuing to make progress for equality and acceptance.

"We know the cancellation of these shows is disappointing to our fans, but we trust that you will stand united with us against this hateful law."

She ended the note with the social media hashtag, "#RepealHB2".

And during Sunday's Billboard Music Awards, Demi continued to fight the law during her performance of hit track Cool For the Summer by wearing a black mesh jersey emblazoned with a gender-inclusive public restroom logo, which features a silhouette of a person wearing half skirt, half pants.

Shortly after her performance, officials at GLAAD announced that a replica of the jersey will be sold during their Future Now tour, and all the proceeds will be donated to LGBT organisations throughout North Carolina.

"Demi Lovato continues to be a fearless ally for LGBT equality and acceptance," GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. "By wearing her support for the transgender community, Lovato is raising critical visibility for vulnerable LGBT North Carolinians and sending an invaluable message of support to transgender people everywhere."

Just last month (Apr16), Nick presented Demi with the GLAAD Vanguard Award in recognition of her work to advance equality and acceptance of LGBT people.