Hilarie Burton praised for blocking anti-LGBT comments as she reveals she took children to Pride event

‘It’s not enough just to celebrate love this year. We are fighting for the civil rights of our friends and neighbours and cherished loved ones,’ she wrote

Hilarie Burton has been applauded by fans for being an “ally” after revealing that she and her children attended their neighbourhood’s first Pride celebration, and that she would be blocking any “bigots” who posted anti-LGBTQ+ comments on her Instagram.

The One Tree Hill star, 40, who shares son Augustus, 13, and daughter George, five, with husband Jeffrey Dean Morgan, opened up about attending the “amazing” celebration hosted by the Rhinebeck Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Rhinebeck, New York, on Instagram on Sunday.

“Took my kids to our town’s FIRST #pride celebration, hosted by our warm and welcoming Rhinebeck Episcopal Church of the Messiah!” Burton captioned an album of photos from the outing on Instagram. “First of all, the party was amazing! The dance floor was a multigenerational melting pot of joy and love.”

In the post, which showed Burton wearing a rainbow flag ring and a pin that read: “You are safe with me,” the actress then wrote that she’d “loved seeing all of my son’s friends run around with this whole supportive group of adults encouraging them to stand up for what’s right,” before noting that “it’s not enough just to celebrate love this year”.

“We are fighting for the civil rights of our friends and neighbours and cherished loved ones,” she continued.

In the emotional post, Burton also expressed her happiness that the church she and her family began attending “back when [her] son was in diapers” was the one “leading the charge in our town”. “Huge thank you to Rhinebeck Episcopal Church of the Messiah and the organisers of this event,” she wrote.

Burton then took the opportunity to share a reminder to the LGBTQ+ community that they are “deserving of vocal and consistent support, not just this month but year round”.

“To all of our LGBTQIA+ fam, you are deserving of vocal and consistent support, not just this month but year round. You deserve freedom to find your bliss. Sending you big ol hugs,” Burton wrote, along with multiple rainbow emojis.

The Walking Dead star concluded the post noting that she would not tolerate anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric on her Instagram, and would be blocking anyone who broke her rule.

“PS - I block bigots. No questions asked. No trash allowed on my page. Xoxox,” she wrote.

In addition to photos of herself and her children from the Pride event, Burton also included a screenshot of a tweet from Claire Willet, who wrote: “For Pride Month this year, can straight people focus less on ‘love is love’ and more on ‘queer and trans people are in danger.’”

Burton’s post has since been met with an outpouring of appreciative messages from her fans, with many praising the actress for proudly showing her support for the LGBTQ+ community amid a rise in dangerous anti-LGBTQ+ policies and legislation in parts of the nation.

“This made me cry. I’m so happy with the way you are raising your kids. Sending love,” one person wrote, while another said: “As a queer woman it means a lot that you’re in our corner especially with everything happening in terms of queer rights being stripped away so thank you for showing your support.”

“Thanks for being a true ally, from the mom of a trans daughter,” someone else wrote.

Busy Philipps also responded to the post, writing: “So much love for this!!”