Saturday, May 13th, the 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York took place and it was sure to be a night to remember. LGBTQ celebrities, journalists, political leaders, allies and more from all over the world gathered at the Midtown Hilton in New York for the special evening.
The night was hosted by What We Do in the Shadows’ Harvey Guillén, who was graciously welcomed by “a room full of big beautiful queers, with a side of allies!” Guillén, a GLAAD Media Award winner himself, reminded the audience that, “Together we will raise our voices and let the world know: we are not going anywhere.”
To kick off the evening, the incredible Idina Menzel took the stage and performed her new dance hit “Move.” The audience was stunned by her rendition of “Defying Gravity” transitioning into her new pop disco track, which is fresh off her upcoming dance project, Drama Queen, releasing August 18th.
Also in attendance were Montana state representative Zooey Zephyr and Oklahoma state representative Mauree Turner, who took the stage to talk about the rise in anti-LGBTQ violence and rhetoric across the country. Representative Zephyr who is transgender and Turner who is queer and nonbinary were recently targeted and silenced in recent weeks, censured by the state legislatures they serve in.
“I am the culmination of the things bigots hate the most: a Queer Black non-binary Muslim elected official. What they say is: you don’t get access to the same Oklahoma as the rest of us because I don’t like you. And what I say is: leave your homegrown bigotry at home.” Turner stated.
Zephyr then introduced GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis to the stage. “She’s a leader, an activist, a mother and a wife, unafraid to speak truth to power… a cis lesbian woman who stands with trans people and reminds the world that the T in LGBTQ is not going anywhere.”
Later, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the first openly LGBTQ and Black person to serve in this role, gave a moving speech.
She then introduced the night’s special recognition honorees which included Ina Fried’s #LettersForTransKids, Drag Story Hour, and Alejandra Caraballo.
Taking a moment in a year of vicious cynical attacks on our humanity to celebrate our shared humanity at the #glaadawards. Honored to share space with so many who I admire and appreciate including @ErinInTheMorn @Nora_JSR @imarajones @RaquelWillis_ @ZoAndBehold @sarahkateellis pic.twitter.com/5HUeSa5jx7
— Ina Fried (@inafried) May 13, 2023
Fire Island and Anything’s Possible tied for the Outstanding Film – Streaming/TV award. Fire Island’s Joel Kim Booster took the opportunity to speak about the WGA strike taking place. “I am so proud to be a part of the Writers Guild of America.” He went on to say that “I hope you all stand in solidarity with us as we move forward. Labor issues are queer issues. Corporate greed is homophobia.”
Taking a moment in a year of vicious cynical attacks on our humanity to celebrate our shared humanity at the #glaadawards. Honored to share space with so many who I admire and appreciate including @ErinInTheMorn @Nora_JSR @imarajones @RaquelWillis_ @ZoAndBehold @sarahkateellis pic.twitter.com/5HUeSa5jx7
— Ina Fried (@inafried) May 13, 2023
This story will be continue to be updated with new photos and videos.
1 Comment
Testing the comment feature!