Their stories are their stories.
Yesterday we were supposed to be in Los Angeles filming a national talk show. Unfortunately, the day before we were set to fly across the country, we had our first call with the producer and were told that the narrative we had agreed to had been completely changed.
We were crushed.
On top of this, we learned that the celebrity guest that would be in conversation with us during the segment was an actor who retweets the musings of a very controversial figure who is known to make transphobic remarks and tout what, we believe to be, dangerous conspiracy theories. We knew that this opportunity to share One Simple Wish on the hottest daytime talk show was huge, but we gathered as a team and asked, "but at what cost?"
One Simple Wish is made up of people who firmly believe in fiercely protecting our kids and their stories. The segment was going to focus far more on the foster care experience of our guests, stories we promised them wouldn't be part of the show. The couple joining us also didn't know that this actor would be a part of this conversation and when they found out, they were equally upset. To honor those close to them in the LGBTQ+ community, they also didn't want to do the segment.
So, we turned down the show.
It was the toughest, but also simplest, decision we've had to make in a long time. But the truth is that we don't ever want to do media for the sake of media, and it will always be far more important to us to tell authentic stories and to protect our kids than it will ever be to sit next to celebrities.
Still, there is this part of us that feels like we have let down the others who won't get to hear about us; those who might need us and don't know we are here and those who might want to help that have never heard of our platform. But our hope is that this is just one opportunity that didn't fit and that something far better will come along soon.
Plus - we've got you!
You, our fiercely supportive, beautiful community of givers that continue to show up for our kids to tell them how much their voices matter every single day.
And you know people too.
So today we're asking each of you to go to social media or send some texts and emails and share a wish from our website, or a story about why you support us and include our link. Tell friends, family and coworkers why they should check us out. Share how we help kids and young adults and encourage anyone who needs us to reach out.
Maybe we won't reach the millions of viewers that the show would have, but we have a feeling we'll reach the ones we really need to.
Thanks for sticking by us.
And thanks for sticking by our kids,
Danielle and The OSW Team
