Years & Years singer Olly Alexander backs anti-bullying campaign

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Olly Alexander of Years & Years has backed Stonewall’s ‘No Bystanders’ campaign.

The openly gay singer, whose debut album Communion topped the charts month, posed for a picture after signing the charity’s pledge.

The pledge reads: “I will never be a bystander to bullying and teasing language. If I hear it, I will call it out and if I can, I will stop it.

“By adding my name, I promise to stand up for fairness, kindness and never be a bystander.”

He joins 16,520 people who have taken the pledge in the charity’s bid to stamp out homophobia and other forms of bullying.

Ruth Hunt said previously of the campaign: “We recognise that discrimination comes in all forms and starts early – in the playground name-calling and teasing that many people still tolerate and consider ‘normal’.

“So we’ve started the #NOBYSTANDERS campaign to unite everyone in Britain and encourage them to take a stand against bullying in all its forms.

“No one can afford to be a bystander to bullying and that is why we are calling on every single person in Britain to sign the #NOBYSTANDERS pledge: hear it, stop it.”

Olly Alexander has hit out in the past at gay singers who sing about gender-neutral “lovers” in songs, saying: “It is kind of sad to me that we don’t have gay popstars singing about men using a male pronoun, but that could change hopefully.”