The Documentary "Bully" should be PG-13 so ALL Kids Can Watch It!

A Letter from Katy Butler, from Michigan High School about being Bullied:

This is how I ended up on the Ellen show yesterday.

When I was 12, I was bullied so much that I didn't even want to go to school anymore. It got so bad that one day, four boys came up behind me, called me awful names, slammed my hand in my locker and broke my finger. The worst part is that I was too afraid to even tell my parents the truth about what happened -- the bullies terrified me.

So when I saw the new documentary Bully, which was produced to stop bullying, it felt so good to know that the filmmakers were telling the stories of kids like me. I think that every kid should see Bully, so I was shocked to learn that it was given an "R" rating because some of the bullies in the film use bad words. 

So ten days ago, I started a petition on Change.org asking the Motion Picture Association of America to change Bully's rating to PG-13. More than 200,000 people have joined me. Click here to sign now.

 The past ten days have been incredible. My petition has been covered by CNN, ABC, NBC, FOX, the AP, Reuters, the LA Times and more, and yesterday, Ellen DeGeneres even said on her show that she signed my petition, too. Here's some of what Ellen said:

“It's an important movie for everyone to see, especially kids. … You can't show R rated movies in schools, and that's exactly where it needs to be shown. … So far, over 200,000 people have signed [Katy's] petition, I have signed it, and I hope you will, too."  (Click here to watch Ellen talk about the petition and wave to me in the audience!)

But even after all that, the MPAA hasn't budged. I got to meet with one of their executives yesterday, and she told me that they have to keep things "consistent." Maybe she thought that I would give up, or that I'm just 17, so how much can I really change anyway? But I know that if we keep up the pressure, the MPAA will have no choice but to admit that being "consistent" isn't as important as letting kids see a movie that could literally save lives.

Click here to watch me on Ellen and sign my petition to tell the MPAA to change Bully's rating to PG-13.

Thanks for your help. Knowing that all these people are standing with me, I  don't feel alone or afraid anymore.

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