Wednesday, June 12th, was a star-studded and joyous night for the LGBTQ community. The 5th annual “Can’t Cancel Pride” benefit concert was a success!
Now available for streaming, the event was hosted by the iconic Billy Porter and featured incredible performances, powerful speeches, and appearances from some of the biggest names in Hollywood, to show their love and support for the LGBTQ community.
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Porter, who also gave a jaw dropping live performance, was honored with the Elton John Impact Award for his advocacy of marginalized communities, LGBTQ+ rights, HIV care, racial justice and gender equity. He was given the honor by Elton John himself.
“The honor is all mine to present the third annual Elton John Impact Award to the extraordinary Billy Porter,” said Elton John. “His achievements go beyond winning an Emmy, Grammy, and Tony; Billy embodies authenticity, tirelessly using his platform to dismantle harmful stigmas. Whether it’s on TV screens or radio airwaves, Billy infuses every project with powerful LGBTQ+ representation, making a profound and lasting impact on audiences around the world. For these reasons and more, he is truly deserving of this honor. Thank you for being your authentic, trailblazing self, Billy!”
Porter accepted his award “on behalf of all the lovers, all the fighters, all the icons, the people who gave everything they had, especially those with HIV who never got to see a world where we can live long, healthy lives.”
Additional performances took place from Allison Russell, Ben Platt, David Archuleta, Meghan Trainor, RAYE, Victoria Monét and more!
Introduced by Sherry Cola and GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos, Orville Peck took the stage and thanked GLAAD for honoring him this year with the Vito Russo Award. He reminded the audience to support one another within the community. He was also joined on stage by folk-rock icon Melissa Etheridge.
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Tune in to iHeartRadio’s YouTube and Facebook pages, Hulu or Revry catch appearances from stars like Alan Cumming and Joel Kim Booster, Adam Lambert, Brandi and Catherine Carlile, Brian Michael Smith, Brothers Osborne, Bruno Alcantara, Chappell Roan, Eddie Ndopu, Jazz Jennings, Jennifer Hudson, Jodie Sweetin and Kevin McHale, Paris Hilton, Priyanka, Sherry Cola, Tan France and Karamo Brown and more!
Paris Hilton brought audiences behind the scenes to unveil how iHeartMedia and her 11:11 Media Impact joined forces to renovate spaces including the laundry room and closet at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, with the help of Emmy-winning design expert Bobby Berk. iHeartMedia and Paris Hilton focused efforts on highly visited areas of the Center, which offers showers, laundry service, food and clothes to LGBTQ+ youth to help them get back on their feet. “Can’t Cancel Pride” and Paris Hilton funded a complete renovation of the space, including much needed new washing and drying machines and clothes donated by IHL Group, Fabletics, and other brands in the closet.
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The event celebrates the trailblazers creating positive change across different areas of society while providing much needed visibility and funding for six LGBTQ+ organizations – CenterLink, GLAAD, National Black Justice Coalition, Outright International, The Trevor Project and SAGE – to continue the transformative work they are accomplishing in support of the LGBTQ+ community. Now in its fifth year, the event has raised more than $17 million for those organizations and celebrated the profound impact of music, a unifying force that can drive society toward more equality and acceptance for all.
Catch the show all throughout Pride Month on iHeartRadio’s YouTube and Facebook pages, Hulu or Revry.