It was a school anti-bullying program that became a lightning rod for culture warriors and conservative MPs – Safe Schools was either protecting gay kids from bullies or trying to sell Marxism in the playground, depending on who was talking.

Now, as the program prepares to shut down, a coalition of singers, actors and other high-profile Australians is urging Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to reopen that tinder box by funding a new version of Safe Schools – without the ideology.

Singer Missy Higgins, comedian Joel Creasey and actor Guy Pearce are among those who have joined a campaign for a federally funded school program to tackle anti-gay bullying and prevent domestic violence.

But in a concession the Safe Schools program went too far in antagonising conservatives, the group has shunned gender theory, equality or even "acceptance" in favour of a much more benign demand: tolerance.