SKYY® Vodka and RuPaul's Drag Race Winner Symone are "Coming Out (Again)," Supporting LQBTQ+ Safe Spaces and Nightlife Performers

NEW YORK, May 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SKYY Vodka today announced Coming Out (Again), a new campaign supporting the nightlife venues and workers that are so deeply integral to the LGBTQ+ community. As the country slowly emerges from lockdown, the brand is calling on everyone to come out, safely, and support the LGBTQ+ hospitality industry, one of those hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coming Out (Again) features three voices at the forefront of today's LGBTQ+ movement: RuPaul's Drag Race Season 13 Winner Symone, popstar Kim Petras and renowned gender nonconforming writer and performance artist Alok Vaid-Menon. The campaign calls for support of LGBTQ+ bars, restaurants, workers, and performers that provide critical safe spaces to the community.

While large-scale Pride parades and celebrations aren't possible this year, SKYY is encouraging their consumers to get out and safely celebrate what truly matters most – community, loved ones and the safe spaces they hold dear.

In addition to SKYY's longtime sponsorship commitment to both NYC Pride and LA Pride, which supports community outreach efforts, the brand has partnered with NYC Pride to launch the SKYY Nightlife Fund, under the NYC Pride Gives Back program. SKYY will make a starting donation of $25,000, dedicated to LGBTQ+ nightlife workers and performers facing financial hardship due to the pandemic. This new initiative further deepens SKYY's steadfast commitment to the LGBTQ+ community, following its parent company Campari America's $1 Million donation to Another Round, Another Rally at the beginning of the pandemic.

"Pride is more than a parade or a party. It's the stories of acceptance, chosen family, a celebration of individuality, a fight for equality, and so much more. Nightlife has long been at the core of the LGBTQ+ community, be it a place to freely express yourself or a means to financially support yourself. Now is the time to step up and help these venues, and the people who work and perform in them, get back on their feet," said Symone, winner of RuPaul's Drag race.

"SKYY Vodka has been a longtime supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, which has faced an incredibly unique and immense challenge over the past year due to the pandemic. The hospitality industry plays a massive role in the lives of LGBTQ+ people and we are dedicated to supporting and celebrating its return in every way we can," said Bernadette Knight, Senior Marketing Director of SKYY Vodka.  

SKYY Vodka has long been a supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and representation from its 'Toast to Marriage' campaign in 2015 to being the very first spirit brand to feature a lesbian couple in its advertising. Since its beginnings in San Francisco in 1992, SKYY Vodka has strived to go beyond standard corporate allyship by campaigning for anti-discrimination legislation designed to protect transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals, championing first-of-its-kind programs to support LGTBQ+ journalism, and partnering with influential voices to educate and inform communities nationwide.

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About SKYY Vodka
SKYY Vodka was born in San Francisco in 1992 and is steeped with the innovative and progressive spirit of California. Conceived by a first-generation American inventor looking to create the world's smoothest vodka, SKYY revolutionized vodka quality with its proprietary quadruple-distillation and triple-filtration process. SKYY Vodka is made with water enriched by minerals, including Pacific minerals sourced from the San Francisco Bay Area, and filtered through California Limestone. Like many things that originate in San Francisco, SKYY grew from a tiny startup into what it is today. To learn more, visit SKYY.com.

About the Campari Group
Davide Campari-Milano N.V., together with its affiliates ("Campari Group"), is a major player in the global beverage sector, trading in over 190 nations around the world with leading positions in Europe and the Americas. Campari Group was founded in 1860 and today is the sixth-largest player worldwide in the premium spirits industry. Campari Group's portfolio, with over 50 brands, spans spirits (the core business), wines, and soft drinks. Its internationally-renowned brands include Aperol^®, Appleton Estate^®, Campari^®, SKYY^®, Wild Turkey^®,  and Grand Marnier^®. Headquartered in Sesto San Giovanni, Italy, Campari Group owns 22 plants worldwide and has its own distribution network in 22 countries. Campari Group employs around 4,000 people. The shares of the parent company, Davide Campari-Milano N.V. (Reuters CPRI.MI - Bloomberg CPR IM), have been listed on the Italian Stock Exchange since 2001. For more information: www.camparigroup.com. Please enjoy our brands responsibly.

SOURCE SKYY Vodka