Meet the TikTok creator amplifying LGBTQ+ voices and stories with pasta for Pride month
Danny Freeman is honoring Pride Month in a unique way on social media: through pasta.
Freeman, also known as "DannyLovesPasta" on TikTok, rolled out the rainbow carpet for "Good Morning America" and shared an inside glimpse at how he makes his vibrant videos while discussing the inspiration behind turning cooking content into a series that highlights diverse voices and amplifies a multitude of identities.
The lawyer-turned-full time content creator, who first started pasta-making during the pandemic, said he created a couple of LGBTQ pride flag-inspired pastas in 2021, but wanted to find a fresh approach this year.
"I said, 'I'm gonna dedicate myself to a Pride series to do all the different beautiful flags in pasta form using all the colors,'" he said. "I realized that it didn't make sense for me to do a voiceover for each one of these flags, because I don't encompass all these different identities and our community is so large and so diverse with many different voices, so I made a video one day putting a call out saying, 'I'm going to do a series of pride flag pastas all during June, I would love it if other people would be willing to do voiceovers to tell your story whether you're a small creator, whether you have an account or no matter who you are, if you want to tell your story, let me know.'"
"I got an amazing response, way more than I ever expected and way more pasta than I could ever make," he added with a laugh, "so I had to choose people."
All month long, Freeman has had "different people telling their stories, their pride stories, their coming out stories" to the world, he said.
"I really left it open to them whatever they really wanted to share," he said. "For each video I'll make a pasta using the colors of that flag [that they represent] and they'll do a voiceover talking about their own identity."
Freeman was inspired to first make handmade pasta like his grandmother made as a way to keep her holiday traditions alive during the pandemic, and eventually continued his culinary craft after she died last year to "feel close with her and work through the grief."
Posting his attempts on TikTok, he said, pushed him to get more creative and he soon found himself "adding different ingredients to make different colors."
"I started making little pasta plants and animals and little sculptures and doing things for the holidays -- it kind of took off from there, but it started me just learning how to make fresh pasta, using my grandmother's recipe," he said.
"I love all the rainbow ones because you get every color -- and the trans flag, I think those colors [with] sort of pastel pink and blue and white is really beautiful together," he added of the Pride Month series.
As for the real and personal stories he's helped others share, Freeman said he "felt a really big responsibility" upon starting the series, "almost to the point where I thought, maybe I shouldn't do it."
"Other people are trusting me with their stories and their voices and I wanted to make sure that I was doing their stories justice with the videos I was creating and the food, I was creating," he said. "That's probably one of the biggest things that weighs on me because I want to do a great job with each one ... people are really lending me their time and their voices and their stories."
Check out Freeman's easy, at-home recipe for handmade pasta -- just like his grandmother made -- in the video below.
