Bush is a part of fundraisers such as __ Cancer, Run for the Gulf, and Global Green Gulf Relief and has been involved in political issues including her support for
Barack Obama's candidacy for president in the
2008 election. In February 2008, she made several appearances in Texas in support of the Obama campaign in the
Democratic presidential primary election. Bush was joined in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Waco by fellow actor
Adam Rodríguez. Touring mostly college campuses, they urged young voters to get involved politically. In April 2009, along with stars
Sarah Chalke,
Jason Lewis,
Alicia Silverstone,
Jane Lynch, and
Lance Bass, Bush appeared in the
Funny or Die video "A Gaythering Storm", which parodied a
National Organization for Marriage video objecting to
same-sex marriage. Bush is a staunch supporter of
gay rights and, in May 2009, she showed up at a rally in protest of
Proposition 8. She carried a sign stating, "I DO support the freedom to marry", and a shirt which had the words "Legalize Gay" across it. In an interview in January 2012, Bush said about the 2012 Republican candidates: "I will not vote for a candidate who thinks you can 'pray away the gay,' I will not vote for a candidate who thinks that he has more rights to my uterus than I do, I will not vote for a candidate who thinks that it's okay to dump toxic waste in the ocean. I'm afraid for our country that people like this could even be thought of as the president. I live in a country where I believe all men are created equal, not just wealthy white guys. I believe all men, all women, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic background, you deserve the same rights." In June 2016, the
Human Rights Campaign released a video in tribute to the victims of the
Orlando nightclub shooting; in the video, Bush and others told the stories of the people killed there. , President of American Civil Liberties Union on center stage during day three of Collision 2018 at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans Bush set up a fundraiser intended to help people living in the area of the
Gulf of Mexico affected by the environmental disaster of the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill on April 20, 2010. The actress has visited Louisiana and testified in interviews of the horror she felt when she visited those places. The fundraiser is on the Internet through
crowdsourcing website Crowdrise.com. The actress, to support the fundraiser, announced that she would be running a half marathon that following November, despite having asthma and a year-old knee injury. Bush has additionally teamed up with
Do Something to raise more environmental awareness among teens. She was chosen as the spokesperson to endorse the launch of eMission, a Facebook game with the social mission to engage America's youth in fighting climate change created through the joint efforts of Do Something and
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
Energy Star program. In 2011, Bush won the Do Something Twitter Award for having spread the word via her Twitter account on how her followers could help with the cleanup after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. She was voted "Fan Favorite" by
Facebook users on DoSomething.org. In 2011, Bush also became involved in the
Pencils of Promise organization, which builds schools and increases educational opportunities in the developing world. In December 2011, Bush competed with other stars in the
Mozilla Firefox Challenge, a one-month fundraising contest whose winner is granted $25,000 to put toward a favorite cause; she won the contest in January 2012. In April 2013, Bush took part in
Global Poverty Project's "
Live Below the Line" campaign, which consists in living on $1.50 a day to raise awareness of extreme poverty around the world. In 2013, Bush hosted a
Prizeo campaign to raise funds for one of her favorite causes, I Am that Girl. As part of the campaign, Bush offered donors a grand prize of the opportunity to
skydive with her. In 2014, Bush's foreword to
Alexis Jones' debut novel
I Am that Girl was released and distributed by accessories retailer
Claire's. In 2016, Bush was named to Oprah's
SuperSoul 100 list of visionaries and influential leaders. Bush is a founding member of the movement
Time's Up. Two of her contributions include creating a clothing line benefiting Planned Parenthood and giving a speech at the Women's March on January 20, 2018. Sophia is also constantly using her social media platforms, such as Twitter, encouraging people to participate in the ongoing activism opportunities around the world. In the 2018 fight over the nomination of
Brett Kavanaugh to the
Supreme Court, Bush was supportive of
Christine Blasey Ford, and praised her "strength" throughout the controversy. Bush tweeted, "To everyone saying 'why did they wait? The timing feels suspect,' etc. Just remember
Bill Cosby. No one wanted to believe it about him. It was true. And he's going to prison. I'd wager more women victimized by Kavanaugh will come forward. Women feel safety in numbers #TimesUp". In 2020, Bush joined the ownership group for
Angel City FC of the
National Women's Soccer League. In July 2022, Bush and Grant Hughes wrote an essay for
Glamour affirming their support of
abortion rights in the wake of the
Supreme Court issuing the decision of ''
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that subsequently overturned Roe v. Wade. In the piece, Bush wrote,This moment is nothing short of a national emergency. But these days it also feels incredibly personal. Because I type this as I look across the kitchen at my husband. A man with whom I am deeply in love. And a man who might never have come into my life, nor me into his, had it not been for an abortion. Not my experience—I have never had an abortion—but his.'' An abortion that he and a former partner had is what got us here. Bush is known for promulgating her progressive views on her social media pages. She uses
Twitter,
Facebook,
Instagram, and her blog to raise awareness of world events and fundraisers in which she takes part, as well as a platform to raise awareness on progressive issues and political events that are occurring. In November 2024, Bush signed an exclusive partnership agreement with Washington Speakers Bureau (WSB), where she advocates for economic growth, women's empowerment, and community engagement.
I Am a Voter In 2018, Bush helped found a non-partisan movement with
Mandana Dayani that aims to create a cultural shift around voting and civic engagement by unifying around a central truth: democracy works best when we all participate. I Am a Voter has partnered with
Disney,
NBA,
NFL,
McDonald's,
Stuart Weitzman, and
Bumble. Their campaign to boost voter registration included participants
Debra Messing,
Eric McCormack,
Sean Hayes,
Gwyneth Paltrow,
Robert Downey Jr.,
Jennifer Aniston,
Lisa Kudrow,
Courteney Cox, Bush,
Hilarie Burton, and
Bethany Joy Lenz. According to I Am a Voter, the effort generated over one billion digital impressions and 250 media articles upon launch. == Public image ==