Tina Fey featured in a video on behalf of her old university, UVA (Instagram/@uva)
Actress and screenwriter Tina Fey has told University of Virginia students to stop singing a ‘homophobic’ song at college football games.
The 30 Rock star is one of the university’s most famous alumni, having graduated in 1992 with a BA in drama. She took part in a video urging people to stop adding a ‘homophobic’ line to the school’s fight song, “The Good Old Song.”
Set to the tune of “Auld Lang Syne,” the song includes the line: “We come from old Virginia where all is bright and gay,” which is typically followed by the shout: “Not gay!”
Fey had a simple message for those who continue to sing the outdated lyrics. “I just had an amazing idea: stop doing that.”
She appeared alongside university students and staff in a video as they explain why the song’s extra line is harmful and unnecessary.
“That, obviously, is not only not politically incorrect, its heinous and pretty divisive,” one student says.
The “not gay” line is sometimes substituted with “f**k Tech”, referring to Virginia Tech, UVA’s rival, but students agree this isn’t ideal either.
“Saying f**k Tech, especially during games in public settings, is just not really the right place and time for it,” says one. Another notes: “That’s not Virginia. Virginia’s one of those places that competes and wins with class.”
The university’s LGBT+ Union has long raised issue with the song, with one 2003 article referencing an unsuccessful petition to get the offensive line banned.
“When I first brought the petition to my teammates, they thought it was a joke. They just laughed,” said Kyle Singer, who at the time was a UVA sophomore.
It’s hoped that the latest push with Fey’s backing will have more of an effect.
The move was praised by one former student, who commented on Instagram: “As an alumna who was coming to terms with my mother being gay while I was an undergrad in the early 90s, I appreciate this so, so much. I didn’t want to hear people screaming that when my mom sat with me in the stands at Scott Stadium in the Pep Band. Thank you.”