Anita Bryant, Grammy-nominated singer and anti-gay rights activist dies at 84

The former Miss Oklahoma passed away in December last year, according to an announcement issued by her family.

Anita Bryant, a multi-Grammy nominated singer and staunch anti-gay right advocate, has died at the age of 84.

According to an announcement issue by her family on Thursday, Bryant passed away at her home in Edmond, Oklahoma on December 16th 2024.

In an announcement on Thursday, Bryant’s family announced that Bryant died at her home in Edmond, Oklahoma, on 16 December 2024. “May Anita’s memory and her faith in eternal life through Christ comfort all who embraced her," the obituary read.

Born on 25 March 1940 in Barnsdall, Oklahoma, Bryant quickly rose to fame through her musical career with hit songs including 'Till There Was You', 'In My Little Corner of the World' and 'Paper Roses'. By 18, Bryant won the title of 'Miss Oklahoma'.

Bryant's career is marked by milestones such as singing at the White House during Lyndon B Johnson’s presidency as well as the Republican and Democratic national conventions. As the spokesperson of Florida Citrus, at one point coining the phrase, “Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine.”

Bryant also became politically active in the 1970s by spearheading the anti-LGBTQ+ “Save Our Children” campaign, which aimed to repeal an ordinance in Dade county, Florida, that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation. “I got involved only because they were asking for special privileges that violated the state law of Florida, not to mention God’s law," she said during an interview.

Bryant’s strongs beliefs and activism led to a loss of almost $500,000 in concert bookings. Additonally, Florida orange juice also became a target of boycotts by gay rights activists. In an infamous clip, gay activist, Thom Higgins, throws a pie in Bryant's face mid speech while she is campaigning in Iowa in 1977.

Lesbian activists also responded by recreating Bryant's slogan from the Florida orange juice project to state, "A day without lesbians is like a day without sunshine."

Bryant is survived by her four children, two stepdaughters, seven grandchildren and their spouses.