Social media-savvy Hillary Clinton isn’t wasting any time reaching out to her digital community. The Democratic presidential hopeful caught wind of a touching Humans of New York post recently and made quite a dent in the blogosphere herself by responding with words of encouragement.
The original post, which shows a young boy looking distressed with his head in his hands, is captioned with the boy’s words: “I’m homosexual and I’m afraid about what my future will be and that people won’t like me.”
An outpouring of support and shares quickly made the post viral, and Clinton’s contribution brought even more attention to the boy’s story (the boy's identity is not known, as Humans of New York is known for not identifying its subjects).
“Prediction from a grown-up: Your future is going to be amazing,” she commented on the post via Facebook on Friday, July 3. “You will surprise yourself with what you’re capable of and the incredible things you go on to do. Find the people who love and believe in you — there will be lots of them.”
As of press time, the comment had already gained 67,669 likes. The Humans of New York account responded with a simple, “Thanks for this Ms. Clinton.”
But Clinton, 67, wasn’t the only bold-faced name to take notice of the post. Ellen DeGeneres also gave her two cents shortly afterward.
“Not only will people like you, they’ll love you,” the talk show host wrote. “I just heard of you and I love you already.”
The viral post comes exactly one week following the Supreme Court’s historic decision to legalize same-sex marriage in all 50 states.
“Today is a big step in our march toward equality,” President Barack Obama tweeted on July 26. “Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry, just like anyone else. #LoveWins.”