Jim Parsons, star of Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon, slammed the Trump administration for its “criminal” decision to cut federal funding for an LGBTQ+ crisis hotline.
The administration ended funding in June, citing redundancy with existing youth suicide prevention services. Parsons criticized the move as a harmful attempt to save tax dollars at the expense of LGBTQ+ support.
“I think it’s quite literally criminal,” Parsons said on MSNBC’s The Weekend show. “It’s one of the kinds of decisions that you’re like, ‘There’s no good reason for it.’ It doesn’t matter what reason you ever put towards it or say it’s the reason it’s happening, it’s never going to be justified.”
Parsons added: “It is only hurtful and it feels like it’s only being done in order to make a point, we’re getting rid of this because we want to make sure certain people understand they’re not welcome here.”
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration assured that no one in crisis is being neglected, stating all 988 Lifeline callers will continue to receive support from trained, culturally competent counselors. The hotline, launched in 2022 under pressure from Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), was created during the Biden administration as a gesture to the LGBTQ+ community.
Actor Jim Parsons on the Trump administration ending the LGBTQ+ youth sucide prevention hotline: “I think it’s quite literally criminal. It’s one of the decisions where there’s no good reason for it. It feels like it’s only being done in order to make a point that we want to make… pic.twitter.com/cmtFqinQQr
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) July 20, 2025
