Logic's Video for '1-800-273-8255' Features Young Gay Man's Powerful Story

The video touches on coming out, bullying, and suicide prevention.

Tracy E. Gilchrist

Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.

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Tracy E. Gilchrist

August 17 2017 2:41 PM EST

July 11 2018 11:59 PM EST

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Rapper Logic has released a moving video for his song "1-800-273-8255," which features a young gay man coming to terms with his sexuality while faced with bullying and initial pushback from his family. Nickelodeon star Coy Stewart plays the young man who meets and falls for another boy played by Modern Family's Nolan Gould while Oscar nominee Don Cheadle and Matthew Modine play the boys' dads. Luis Guzman plays the boy's supportive coach.

The video follows a structure similar to that of the Oscar-winning film Moonlight, which focused on three stages of its protagonist's life. The video for Logic's song, which is the actual National Suicide Prevention Hotline number, depicts Cheadle as the dad holding his infant son before centering mostly on the child's teen years that include falling for a boy, being bullied, and contemplating suicide. Finally, it closes on a flash-forward to when the boy is fully grown, has been accepted by his family, and accepts himself.

While Logic has not commented on this powerful video, which also features Alessia Cara and Khalid, one of his reps said, "It speaks for itself," according to Variety.

The song includes the number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, but it's also important to note that The Trevor Project is a wonderful resource for struggling LGBT youth.