Grammy Award-winning music superstar Kacey Musgraves will receive the Vanguard Award at the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, April 2, 2022. GLAAD’s Vanguard Award is presented to allies who have made a significant difference in promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people. Previous honorees include Beyoncé and JAY-Z, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Kerry Washington, Cher, Janet Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor, Patricia Arquette, and Antonio Banderas.
Kacey Musgraves has used her platform to loudly speak out in support of the LGBTQ community and advance conversations about LGBTQ acceptance in country music. Most recently, Musgraves joined GLAAD and Equality Texas to raise awareness around anti-LGBTQ bills proposed in the Texas state legislature.
In 2013, Musgraves recorded and co-wrote the single “Follow Your Arrow,” which features the lyrics “make lots of noise, kiss lots of boys, or kiss lots of girls if that’s what you’re into … just follow your arrow wherever it points.” In an interview with Rolling Stone, Musgraves noted that despite her label telling her that she would “go down in flames” for releasing it as a single on country radio, she fought to do so anyways because the message was important to her. “Follow Your Arrow” has since been widely recognized as a LGBTQ anthem. Musgraves performed the song at the 25th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York in 2014, becoming the first ever country artist to perform at the ceremony.
On her outstanding legacy as an ally, GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis stated: “From speaking out against anti-LGBTQ legislation in her home state of Texas, to raising awareness about bullying affecting LGBTQ youth, to uplifting the work of LGBTQ artists, Kacey continues to raise the bar for what it means to be an authentic ally and to inspire her fans to do the same.”
Since then, Musgraves has continued to advocate for the LGBTQ community through her music. Her music video for “Rainbow,” a song off her 2018 Grammy-award winning album Golden Hour, featured a visibly queer young man enduring parental conflict at home due to his sexuality. The Advocate called the music video an “ode to queer youth.” Throughout her career, Musgraves has collaborated with multiple LGBTQ artists, most notably Troye Sivan, with whom she has released two tracks, “Glittery” and “Easy,” and MUNA and King Princess, who joined Musgraves for her 2022 star-crossed: unveiled tour. star-crossed: the film, which she released in conjunction with the 2021 album, features multiple LGBTQ artists and iconography, including RuPaul’s Drag Race season 13 winner Symone, Hacks comedian Meg Stalter and music artist Princess Nokia.
In addition to Musgraves receipt of the Vanguard Award, Hosts and Series Producers of the Emmy-nominated HBO series We’re Here, Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara, and D.J. “Shangela” Pierce, will host the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles. The 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards are presented by Gilead Sciences, Inc., Hyundai, and Ketel One Family Made Vodka. Delta Air Lines is a Major Sponsor of the events, Sony Music Group is an Official Sponsor, and Comcast NBCUniversal Telemundo is a Titanium Sponsor.
GLAAD has also announced that Andrew Garfield will present the Stephen F. Kolzak Award to Michaela Jaé Rodriguez. GLAAD announced Michaela Jaé’s honor last month. The Stephen F. Kolzak Award is presented to a LGBTQ media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting LGBTQ acceptance. Previous Stephen F. Kolzak honorees include Laverne Cox, Jim Parsons, Wanda Sykes, Troye Sivan, Ruby Rose, Chaz Bono, Stephen Warren, Melissa Etheridge, and Sir Ian McKellen.
Special guests for the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Award in Los Angeles will include JoJo Siwa, Jeopardy! Champion Amy Schneider, Jasmin Savoy Brown (Yellowjackets, Scream), Liv Hewson (Yellowjackets, Bombshell), Meredith Marks (Real Housewives of Salt Lake City), Ronen Rubinstein and Rafael Silva (9-1-1-: Lone Star), Nico Santos (Superstore, Crazy Rich Asians), writer and comedian Zeke Smith, and cast members of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
The GLAAD Media Awards honor media for fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of LGBTQ people and issues. Since its inception in 1990, the GLAAD Media Awards have grown to be the most visible annual LGBTQ awards show in the world, sending powerful messages of acceptance to audiences globally.
About the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards
GLAAD announced 246 nominees in 30 categories for the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Across categories, transgender and Black LGBTQ stories made a large impact, with nominees including Lil Nas X, West Side Story, Eternals, Pose, Sex Education, RuPaul’s Drag Race, We’re Here, Saved by the Bell, 9-1-1: Lone Star, Star Trek: Discovery, Batwoman, Changing the Game, I Am Jazz, Harlem, With Love, Twenties, BROCKHAMPTON, Mykki Blanco, among others. For a full list of nominees for the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards, click here.
The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies, which fund GLAAD’s work to accelerate LGBTQ acceptance, will be held in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, April 2, 2022 and in New York at the Hilton Midtown on Friday, May 6, 2022. GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis serves as Executive Producer of the GLAAD Media Awards, alongside GLAAD staff Rich Ferraro and Anthony Allen Ramos. Juana Guichardo and Jose Useche serve as Associate Producers and Wendy Shanker will serve as Headwriter.
The 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards are presented by Gilead Sciences, Inc., Hyundai, and Ketel One Family Made Vodka. Delta Air Lines is a Major Sponsor of the events, Sony Music Group is an Official Sponsor, and Comcast NBCUniversal Telemundo is a Titanium Sponsor.
To purchase tickets for the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards, please visit: www.glaad.org/mediaawards/tickets.
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