‘Eat a fruit for Anita:’ 10 historic Anita Bryant protest photos

From a banana cream pie to the sassiest t-shirts…

(1) Portrait of a woman as she stands under a ‘National Lesbian Feminist Organization’ sign on the National Mall prior to the Equal Rights Amendment March, Washington DC, July 9, 1978. She wears a t-shirt that reads ‘Eat a Fruit for Anita’ (a sarcastic reference to American singer and Florida Citrus spokesperson Anita Bryant, a vocal opponent of laws designed prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation). Visible in the background are the towers of the Smithsonian Institution Building (also known as the Castle).(2) An activist carries a placard which reads ‘Anita: Gay Blood Is Upon You! Who’s Next?’ during the fifth ‘Gay Freedom Day’ (San Francisco Pride) during which many protesters ridiculed singer Anita Bryant and her anti gay crusade, San Francisco, California, US, 26th June 1977.an obituary shared by her family reveals that Bryant died on December 16, 2024, at her home in Edmond, Okla. She was 84. She is survived by four children and seven children — and every LGBTQ+ protection she fought to overturn. The Miami-Dade county government restored the ordinance in 1998 and added gender identity to it in 2014, and a state ban on adoption by same-sex couples supported by Bryant was struck down in court in 2010.Scroll for some historic pictures of the activists who fought Bryant’s crusade every step of the way.

Des Moines: Entertainer-evangelist Anita Bryant, her face covered with banana cream pie, stares in disbelief during a news conference where a man posing as a reporter jumped up and hit her in the face with a pie he brought to the conference. At left is Miss Bryant’s husband, Robert Green. She is in Des Moines for a religious concert. Green said no charges would be filed, and the pie-thrower was allowed to leave the news conference.

Via Getty: Bettmann

Des Moines: Singer-evangelist Anita Bryant covers her face after being hit with a pie by a man posing as a reporter during a news conference in Des Moines in 1977. She was in Des Moines to appear at a scheduled religious concert. The man who threw the pie was allowed to leave the conference.

Via Getty: Bettmann

A group of marchers compare U.S. President Donald Trump to Anita Bryant, the KKK, and Adolf Hitler while marching in the annual LGBTQI Pride Parade on Sunday, June 25, 2017 in San Francisco, California. The LGBT community descended on Market Street for the 47th annual Pride Parade.

Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

Two men attend the 5th Gay Freedom Day (San Francisco Pride), San Francisco, US, 26th June 1977; the man on the left wears t-shirt against anti-homosexual crusader Anita Bryant. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images) (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Via Getty: Archive Photos

An activist carries a placard which reads ‘Anita: Gay Blood Is Upon You! Who’s Next?’ during the fifth ‘Gay Freedom Day’ (San Francisco Pride) during which many protesters ridiculed singer Anita Bryant and her anti gay crusade, San Francisco, California, US, 26th June 1977.

Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images

A man and woman at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade hold bumper stickers with the saying Will History Repeat Itself? Hitler, McCarthy, Anita. The slogans on the stickers refer to Anita Bryant’s anti-gay campaign.

Photo by © Roger Ressmeyer/CORBIS/VCG via Getty Images

Protesters stand behind their signs during a demonstration in Copley Square while anti-homosexual crusader Anita Bryant and Senate candidate Howard Phillips speak at a press conference at Copley Plaza in Boston, Sept. 1, 1978.

Photo by Ted Ancher/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Portrait of a woman as she stands under a ‘National Lesbian Feminist Organization’ sign on the National Mall prior to the Equal Rights Amendment March, Washington DC, July 9, 1978. She wears a t-shirt that reads ‘Eat a Fruit for Anita’ (a sarcastic reference to American singer and Florida Citrus spokesperson Anita Bryant, a vocal opponent of laws designed prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation). Visible in the background are the towers of the Smithsonian Institution Building (also known as the Castle).

Photo by Ann E. Zelle/Getty Images

LGBTQ+ people and supporters protest outside Peoples Church during a Toronto by Anita Bryant in 1978.

Photo by Frank Lennon/Toronto Star via Getty Images

Celebration on Castro St. in San Francisco for the defeat of the ‘Miami referendum’, a initiative to overturn an ordinance banning discrimination against gays and lesbians promoted by Save Our Children Inc. and Anita Bryant. 06/07/1977 Gay Rights Project

Photo by Stephanie Maze/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

Celebration on Castro St. in 1977 San Francisco for the defeat of the “Miami referendum,” a initiative to overturn an ordinance banning discrimination against gays and lesbians promoted by Save Our Children Inc. and Bryant.