Merino began planning Virtual Pride on June 20, an Instagram Live event for members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies to come together, celebrate, learn, and raise money for two organisations, the Los Angeles LGBT Centre and Black Visions Collective. "I reached out to some of my friends in the community, and everyone was superexcited to be a part of that and come together to celebrate," said Merino. "I think we did a good job at mixing the fun with the subjects that were a little bit more serious."
Virtual Pride kicked off with the segment "Werk Classes With Laganja," where Laganja Estranja, dancer, singer, and drag artist from RuPaul's Drag Race, taught viewers how to work the runway and pose. "Everyone in the comments was just really having a blast," said Merino. "And that was the session that we actually raised the most money in." On the more serious side, Merino had a chat with Gigi Gorgeous on gender identity and feeling comfortable in your own skin.
Image Source: Courtesy of Artist Couture