Stand Against LegisHATE: Exclusive Interviews with Michael Weinstein and Brandon Wolf

LATV’s Queen Victoria and co-host Maria Roman sat down with two passionate advocates for social justice, Michael Weinstein, the President of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and Brandon Wolf, a formidable LGBTQ civil rights advocate.

Check out the full episode of Royal T on LATV+, where they talk about the battles against LegisHATE, reveal their personal stories and passions, and speak up about the urgent need for unity in the face of rising challenges.

Meet Michael Weinstein

Michael Weinstein is the president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization. Starting as a graphic designer and businessman in the ’80s, Weinstein has been a pioneer in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Co-founding AHF, now a multi-billion dollar organization spanning over 45 countries, their mission is clear: “providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy, regardless of one’s ability to pay.” In our exclusive interview, Weinstein emphasized the critical need for unity during this time of heightened animosity.

“We have to be unified because haters hate us all with passion. Their goal is to wipe out all the rights we’ve achieved in the last 70 years. So we have to put aside our differences and fight together,” Weinstein passionately explained. “We have to meet fire with fire. Whatever issues we have, we can put them aside for the purpose of maintaining our rights, answering the hate, and moving forward,” he added.

Weinstein then went on to highlight the dangers society has been facing, issuing a warning about the potential consequences of another Trump presidency and the rise of violence-promoting politicians. Stressing the urgency of the current moment, he remarked, “Denial helps you to survive. We don’t want to really think about what a dangerous moment this is. But these wires that we’ve tripped are just so incredibly dangerous. And a lot of times, the haters win because they’re so determined and organized,” Michael cautioned.

But it’s not just about the warnings; it’s a call to action. Weinstein believes that most people are ready to set aside their differences for the greater cause of safeguarding hard-earned rights. “I think people are waiting for that message, and they’re responding to it,” he concluded.

Meet Brandon Wolf

Brandon Wolf, the National Press Secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, shared his journey from the tragic events at Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub in 2016, which compelled him to become an advocate for gun safety and LGBTQ civil rights. Wolf knew he wanted to make a change in the aftermath of the horrifying incident that claimed the lives of his best friends and 47 others.

“I’m so driven by the idea that we can do better,” Brandon Wolf explained in the episode, where he explored the personal transformation that fueled his commitment to advocacy. From being a Starbucks manager thinking about a corporate future, Brandon found himself drawn into activism by the reality of hate and violence hitting close to home.

“I went to get a drink with my friends at our neighborhood bar and came out alone. My two best friends went in with me, and they never came out to say goodbye to their parents. And that changed everything for me, because all of a sudden, the hate and the violence, it wasn’t some far away concept, it wasn’t something I was reading about online, it was in my community,” he recalled.

Wolf went on to co-found The Dru Project, an NGO providing scholarships to LGBTQ youth, and he testified before Congress as the first survivor of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy. “My city was trending, my friends’ names were on the concrete wall, forever etched in stone, their faces were just pictures, they weren’t living, breathing anymore. And so I made a promise to them in the weeks that followed that I would never stop fighting for a world that they could be proud of.”

For more on Michael Weinstein and Brandon Wolf’s complete stories, watch the full episodes at LATV+