Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke at Saturday's
LoveLoud music festival in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds,
who was raised Mormon, helped organize the second annual LoveLoud
concert, which raises money for several LGBT organizations, including
the Trevor Project and GLAAD.
(Related: LoveLoud
music festival draws 35,000 with message of LGBT acceptance.)
According to LoveLoud's Facebook page,
it is dedicated to igniting “the vital conversation about what it
means to unconditionally love, understand, accept and support LGBTQ+
youth in our communities.”
“I stand before you tonight as an
uncle, a sports nut, a CEO, a lover of the beautiful Utah outdoors,
and a proud, gay American,” Cook told the audience before
introducing Imagine Dragons. “I come to deliver a simple message
that I want every LGBT person to hear and to believe.”
“You are a gift to the world. A
unique and special gift, just the way you are. Your life matters. …
My heart breaks when I see kids struggling to conform to a society or
a family that doesn’t accept them. Struggling to be what someone
else thinks is normal. Find your truth, speak your truth, live your
truth.”
“Let me tell you, 'normal’ just
might be the worst word ever created. We are not all supposed to be
the same, feel the same, or think the same. And there is nothing
wrong with you.”
“I know that life can be dark and
heavy, and sometimes might seem unreasonable and unbearable, but just
as night turns to day, know that darkness is always followed by
light. You will feel more comfortable in our own skin, attitudes will
change. Life will get better and you will thrive,” he added.
Cook came out gay in 2014, confirming
rumors about his sexuality that had lingered for years.
(Related: Tim
Cook: I felt “tremendous responsibility” to come out gay.)