I participated in the NGL trend on Instagram and revealed a cyberbully by getting them to admit who they were. The questions/messages that they sent to me were extremely discriminatory toward those of my faith as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as those in the LGBTQ+ community.

This individual's bullying should not be tolerated because she holds a leadership position at an essential oil company based in Pleasant Grove, UT and her job responsibilities revolve around communications via social media with their Wellness Advocates. This essential oil company's goals are to "pursue what's pure" and their core values encompass kindness, inclusivity, and diversity yet they are employing someone who does not reflect those values, nor does this individual portray how one of their employees should conduct themselves in or out of the office. The fact that she was on the clock, over two consecutive business days (July 13th-14th), engaging in these bullying tactics through Instagram only emphasizes why there should be disciplinary action taken at their workplace.

The purpose for her questions and messages was to degrade my religious beliefs and ultimately "out" me as bisexual because she believes I'm suffering due to not living an authentic life.

Outing is a term defined by hrc.org as, "Exposing someone's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or gender non-binary identity to others without their permission. Outing someone can have serious repercussions on employment, economic stability, personal safety or religious or family situations."

This individual claims to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community was unhappy that I identified as heterosexual because she believes I should label myself as bisexual. Any ally would know that sexuality is fluid and that one can change their sexual orientation as they see fit. Furthermore, all human beings should have the right to share their sexual orientation on their own terms without being ridiculed. When I stated that I was heterosexual, she messaged me saying I was a liar and admitted to talking to others about it. Imagine the impact this could have had if I was not open about my sexual orientation yet? How reacted/responded perpetuates biphobic behavior.

Because of my religious affiliation, she questioned my allyship to the LGBTQ+ community as well as my right to pay tithes. She harassed me about 10% of my income going to my church when she should be more concerned about 100% of income coming from this essential oil company, a company founded by members of my church. Would she talk to the founders of this company or her LDS coworkers in the same manner that addressed me in?

Along with these dishonorable attempts to belittle me for my faith and sexuality, she took her bullying a step further by spreading lies that I had sexually assaulted/harassed women! This is defamation and she has no grounds to claim this.

I refuse to be bullied, especially by someone who lacks the self-awareness for when they've crossed the line. This has impacted not only my mental health, but my wife and family's as well. I demand disciplinary action to be enforced as well as a written apology from her, not to me, but to the Latter-day Saint and LGBTQ+ communities. An apology is the least that she could do and the respectable thing to do.

If you are someone that does not tolerate bullying, I encourage you to sign this petition to let and know that this kind of behavior is inexcusable.