(March 21, 1997 – September 18, 2011)
Personal life
Jamey T. Rodemeyer[3] lived with his parents, Tim and Tracy Rodemeyer, in their home outside of Buffalo, New York.[4] He also had one sister, Alyssa Rodemeyer. He was open about his sexuality, and faced severe bullying as a result of it.[5] Rodemeyer's inspiration to help others came from his biggest idol, Lady Gaga. He often referred to her in his videos and quoted her lyrics to provide guidance to others.[6]Activism
Rodemeyer encountered bullying throughout middle school because of his homosexuality. Anonymously posted comments on his Formspring account included hate messages such as, "I wouldn't care if you died. No one would. So just do it :) It would make everyone WAY more happier!".[7] Despite this, he used his experiences to make videos on YouTube under the username xgothemo99xx, in order to help others who were experiencing similar situations. He also notably made a video for the "It Gets Better" project, a website dedicated to preventing teen suicide.[2]Death
Rodemeyer was found dead by his sister the morning of September 18, 2011 in an apparent hanging suicide. Prior to his death, he posted a final update on Twitter that was directed toward Lady Gaga. The tweet read, "@ladygaga bye mother monster, thank you for all you have done, paws up forever".[8]Aftermath
The Amherst Police Department launched a criminal investigation after the death of Jamey Rodemeyer, assisted by the Erie County District Attorney, Frank A. Sedita III. The investigation lasted nine weeks and included analysis of Jamey's home computer and mobile phone records. Although evidence of criminal harassment was found, these incidents either had insufficient evidence to prosecute or were expired beyond the statute of limitations. The investigation closed without any charges being filed.[9]The news of Jamey's death resulted in outrage by supporters all around the world. Following his death, Tim and Tracy Rodemeyer were interviewed by various news outlets about their son and his struggles against bullying. Both parents took the opportunities to promote peace and equality in the hopes of preventing occurrences similar to this one from happening in the future.[10]
In an interview with Ann Curry on The Today Show, Jamey's parents said that their son was still being bullied even after his suicide.[11] When his sister attended a school homecoming dance, Jamey's friends began chanting his name in support when a Lady Gaga song began playing. As a result, bullies at the dance began chanting that they were glad he was dead.[11]
Upon learning of his death, Lady Gaga stated that she was extremely upset, spending her days "reflecting, crying and yelling". She went on to dedicate her song "Hair" to Jamey during a performance at the iHeartRadio music festival at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, saying, "I wrote this record about how your identity is really all you've got when you're in school...so tonight, Jamey, I know you're up there looking at us and you're not a victim. You're a lesson to all of us. I know it's a bit of a downer, but sometimes the right thing is more important than the music." Lady Gaga later met with President Barack Obama to discuss what his administration would do to prevent bullying in schools.[8]
Also in response to his death, reigning Miss New York Kaitlin Monte founded an online petition to bring the issue of cyberbullying aka Jamey's Law in front of New York lawmakers.[12] Shortly after, State Senator Jeffrey Klein proposed new cyberbullying legislation. The two partnered to launch the New York Cyberbully Census.[13]
In October 2011, actor Zachary Quinto noted Rodemeyer's death as the genesis of his decision to come out publicly as gay, saying on his official website, "but in light of Jamey's death – it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it – is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality."[14][15][16]
In response to Zachary Quinto's coming out and also in reaction to gay suicides caused by bullying, Dan Kloeffler of ABC News Now also came out.[17]
That same month, another teenager, Jamie Hubley, was reported to have committed suicide for the same reason. While he never explicitly talked about Rodemeyer, comparisons have been drawn.[18][19]
The Fox TV show Glee made a reference to Jamey while Finn (Cory Monteith) was talking to Santana (Naya Rivera) about gay suicide.
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