Hakuna Truvada! Lion King tribute promotes HIV-preventing PrEP drugs to gay men
The City of West Hollywood teamed up with viral star Todrick Hall to promote HIV-preventing PrEP drugs.
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) drug Truvada can drastically reduce people’s chances of being infected with HIV by up to 99 percent, if taken daily.
The drug has been endorsed by the World Health Organisation and is already routinely available to at-risk men in a number of countries, including the United States, Canada, France and Israel.
Amid a push to promote the drug to the gay community, the City of West Hollywood helped out singer Todrick Hall with a Lion King-inspired public service announcement.
Mean Girl star Daniel Franzese and YouTuber Kory DeSoto appear in the clip as Timon and Pumbaa.
They sing: “It means less worries for the rest of the gays! It’s our HIV prevention key, Hakuna Truvada!”
RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Willam also appears in the clip, helping administer an HIV test.
The video was also made in partnership with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.
The city has one of the highest proportions of LGBT residents in the US.
The Mayor of West Hollywood recently warned Donald Trump to keep out, ahead of California’s Primaries.
In a letter to Mr Trump, Mayor Lindsey Horvath wrote: “With the primary making its way to California, as West Hollywood’s Mayor, I want to make very clear that your campaign of violence and intimidation is not welcome in our City.”
She added: “The people of West Hollywood have seen the devastation and destruction that hatred and hate speech can bring.
“We are home to Jewish immigrants who escaped Nazi occupation in Soviet Russia, to LGBTQ people of all ages including survivors of the AIDS crisis, and to many other diverse constituencies, of which we are most proud.”
