Streaming platform Bigo Live steps up for the LGBTQ community

When I got the email from the Bigo Live team asking me to moderate their special #Pride365 event, I instantly went to work looking into the live-streaming app. I'll admit, I am not a live streamer myself, so Bigo was new to me. I was quickly quite pleased to see a lot of LGBTQ+ content on the app. The company, based in Singapore with offices in the U.S., has been a supportive force for the LGBTQ+ community through corporate partnerships and every day as a platform where queer creators are thriving.

For Eric Kim, Senior Operations Director of Bigo Live US, supporting the community isn't about performative actions. "At Bigo Live, Pride is more than just a month; we celebrate diverse communities everyday, all year long #Pride365," Kim says. "We are proud of the platform we've built and the community members that make us who we are so we wanted to provide a forum where anyone can come together and celebrate LGBTQ+ voices."

Rather than spending money on rainbow merch and calling it a day, Bigo opted to hold an "LGBTQ State of the Union" hosted by popular Bigo personality Dwight O'Neal, also known as onealappeal. I moderated the conversation which included Bigo influencers BlakHippi, King Teddy and special guest, Leah Kartun, Corporate Partnerships Manager at The Trevor Project. Kim explains the idea for this important conversation came about as a collaboration between BIGO staff and users. "The inaugural State of the Union Panel was the proud result of the collaboration between our teammates who were genuinely curious to understand, directly from our community of users, what are the topics that are affecting the LGBTQ community. Our hope is to keep normalizing these types of conversations, opening the minds of everyone around us and not only creating a world of acceptance but of inclusion."

Host of the event, Dwight O'Neal aka ONealAppeal, also hosts Bigo's morning show.

The hourlong event featured some laughs, but also important discussions about what's happening right now in politics and legislation, living out loud and found family. (I couldn't have asked for a lovelier group of people to talk with.) Leah Kartun joined for the second half to discuss the essential work The Trevor Project is doing and to share their recent survey on LGBTQ Mental Health. BIGO has been a corporate partner to The Trevor Project since 2020 and supports the organization throughout the year, not just during Pride.

When we talk about allies in the corporate world, Bigo is certainly showing up, 365.