James Van Der Beek has joined the NOH8
Campaign, the silent protest which raises awareness and funds for gay
rights causes, including ending California's 2008 voter-approved gay
marriage ban, Proposition 8.
The 35-year-old Van Der Beek first
gained notoriety playing Dawson Leery in The WB's nighttime teenage
drama Dawson's Creek.
The NOH8 Campaign is helmed by
photographer-activist Adam Bouska and his partner Jeff Parshley. The
pair photograph celebrities and everyday folks with their mouths duct
taped and the campaign's familiar “NOH8” slogan often written on
one cheek.
Van
Der Beek is photographed making a stop sign with the palm of one
hand while wearing a white short-sleeved t-shirt.
Last year, Van Der Beek hosted all-gay
cabler Logo's fourth annual NewNowNext Awards, at which his site,
JamesVanDerMemes.com, won the OMG Internet Award and Lady Gaga won
the Always, Next, Forever Now Award.
Recent celebrities who have joined the
NOH8 Campaign include Broadway diva Idina
Menzel, actress Aisha
Tyler, singer Miley
Cyrus, Hot in Cleveland's Valerie
Bertinelli, Wendie Malick and Jane Leeves, singer Courtney
Love and Meghan
and Cindy McCain.