THE DUFF AND SECRET MEAN STINKS GANG UP FOR GOOD

Secret Mean Stinks Anti-Bullying Movement and the new film ‘The DUFF’ partner

with over 20,000 students to ‘Gang Up For Good’ during Biggest. Assembly. Ever.

‘The DUFF’ Actresses Mae Whitman, Bianca Santos, Skyler Samuels and Bella Thorne participate in Secret Mean Stinks’ second annual Biggest. Assembly. Ever. to help bring an end to bullying in schools across the country

 

Los Angeles, CA (February 4, 2015) –Secret Mean Stinks and the upcoming comedy film, ‘The DUFF,’ partnered to simultaneously spread kindness with over 20,000 students through today’s live-streamed Secret Mean Stinks Biggest. Assembly. Ever. The second annual Biggest. Assembly. Ever. is the largest stop on Secret’s Nicest. Tour. Ever. anti-bullying assembly program which brings recording artist, anti-bullying advocate and Mean Stinks spokesperson, Keenan West to 75 schools across the country this school year to empower students to stand up to mean behavior and end girl-to-girl bullying.

The assembly featured special in-person appearances by the ‘The DUFF’ stars Mae Whitman, Bianca Santos and Skyler Samuels along with a special message from their costar, Bella Thorne. West led almost 400 students from host school Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, CA with inspiring messages while educating them with advice on how to end bullying. Satellite schools St. Jean Baptiste High School from New York City and Lakes Community High School in Lake Villa, Illinois virtually participated, with students sharing how they spread nice in their schools and work together to put a stop to mean behavior, while attending cast members from ‘The DUFF’ shared their personal bullying experiences. Almost 350 other schools tuned in via the livestream and this number is expected to rise as more schools view the assembly on www.MeanStinks.com. In an effort to turn the tide on cyberbullying, Mean Stinks helped to shift the online conversation from negative to positive by encouraging students throughout the assembly to use their smart phones to do “Nice Takeovers,” flooding Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook with thousands of messages of niceness, resulting in #MeanStinks becoming the third national trending Twitter hashtag.

 “We are so thrilled and honored to be working with Secret Mean Stinks and to have been selected to host this year’s Biggest. Assembly. Ever. to help reduce bullying and spread niceness – not only in our school – but in so many schools across the country,” said Joshua Arnold, Principal of Los Alamitos High School. “I know this assembly will help evolve our student’s outlook on how they treat one another and think it will have the same impact in schools across the country.”

Mean Stinks’ partner ‘The DUFF,’ a new film opening in theaters nationwide on Feb. 20, is a comedic snapshot about what it’s like to be a teen today. The film ultimately sends a message to teens about standing up to labels and mean behavior and staying true to yourself. In partnering together, ‘The DUFF’ and Mean Stinks aim to share these positive messages and inspire teens all around the country to spread nice rather than submitting to mean actions and words.

“The themes in ‘The DUFF’ really resonated with me because I don’t think there’s anyone, including myself, who hasn’t experienced bullying or that hasn’t been made to feel like less than because of other people’s actions,” said actress Mae Whitman, who plays Bianca or “the DUFF” in the film. “By partnering with Mean Stinks and being part of the Biggest. Assembly. Ever., we are able to directly reach and relate to kids all across the country to let them know that they’re not alone and that it’s up to them to stand up and make a difference.”

To inspire students to continue to spread nice through the remainder of the school year, Secret Mean Stinks will be holding its third annual “Nicest School in America” competition, which recognizes one extraordinary middle or high school that demonstrates its commitment to combat bullying by creating a culture of nice. The winning school will be awarded the title of “Nicest School in America” in early May based on the series of nice acts completed from a series of challenges posted on http://www.MeanStinks.com. To help bring an end to bullying among their schools, parents and educators can utilize the free web-based interactive “Girls Guide to End Bullying,” developed by the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and used as a basis for Mean Stinks’ in-school assemblies. This free resource is uniquely proven to decrease the experiences of being bullied by educating the specific audiences who are affected by it most.

“Secret Mean Stinks is committed to empowering young women to take a proactive role in bringing an end to bullying and mean behavior,” said John Sebastian, North America Brand Director for Secret. “As this movement grows bigger and bigger over the years, we are continuously blown away by the students who take this movement on as their own and lead the way in making a change within their school. We are passionate supporters of this cause because of these students’ inspiring actions and we are committed to continuing our mission of spreading nice and bringing an end to girl-to-girl bullying.”

About Secret Deodorant’s Mean Stinks Movement
In 2011, Secret Deodorant began its commitment to bringing an end to girl-to-girl bullying with the Mean Stinks movement. During the following year, Secret Mean Stinks inspired girls to “Gang Up for Good” by creating 1.3 million acts of “good.” Girls were encouraged to take a proactive role in standing-up to bullying and sharing their #NiceAdvice with each other via social media. Thousands of girls across the country took “blue pinky swears” as a visual reminder and a call-to-action to keep it a “drama free school year.” For more information about Mean Stinks, including the various ways girls and schools can get involved and “Gang Up for Good” to end mean behavior, join the conversation on Twitter or Instagram with @MeanStinks.

 

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