The WWE campaign for Pride is my most cherished project. Sonya Deville spoke to me nearly a year ago about doing a photo shoot for Pride Month. Sonya is the first openly lesbian performer in WWE and an inspiring person. This is WWE’s first-ever Pride campaign and I am so very proud to have led it. Everyone who contributed, from my crew to the Superstars to our digital media team, they all put much love and talent into this. It was a meaningful and beautiful experience for all involved. Being able to leverage WWE’s platform to champion inclusiveness and awareness is valuable. WWE’s reach is deep as one of the most followed brands in the world. This Pride campaign is for everyone; for the LGBTQ+ community, for a diverse audience of WWE fans many of which are young, and for every person it reaches. My hope is that everyone feels the genuine love and support that was behind all of this.
A lot of amazing people made this happen. Sr. Director, Digital and Social Content, Ryan Murphy and I worked together to pitch the idea and the visuals. Chad Griffith brought his lighting skills, passion and positive personality to capture these portraits. It was my first time working with stylist, Melina Kemph and she was amazing. Styling the Superstars with the clothes she brought and helping them style their own looks. Debbie Wecksell interviewed Superstars on-set about why this movement is important to them for the quotes that would populate the gallery and social exclusives. Art Director, Joelle Brito designed all of the assets for the campaign; a web gallery, an article, social posts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, plus an Instagram story. I’m very appreciative of all the WWE Superstars and on-air talent that were available to participate and that everyone shared this campaign on their social media accounts. And I am especially grateful that Pat Patterson joined us. Pat has been openly gay since the 70s. He is a legend in WWE. On the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, I loved having Sonya and Pat together to represent two generations.
Photography by Chad Griffith Creative Production & Photo Direction by Christine Reilly Sr. Director, Digital and Social Content, Ryan Murphy Styling by Melina Kemph Digital Tech, Katie Hawthorne Photo Assistants, Matthew LaBarbiera and Francis Bonn III Design by Joelle Brito Interviews by Debbie Wecksell Photo Finishing by Jenna Kaplan
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