GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, announced today that the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York will no longer occur next week following new guidance from the New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo around COVID-19. The 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards are presented by Delta, Gilead, Hyundai, and Ketel One Family-Made Vodka.
GLAAD’s Rich Ferraro, Chief Communications Officer and an Executive Producer of the GLAAD Media Awards, issued the following statement:
“Given GLAAD’s long-standing commitment to the safety of our members, sponsors, and guests, the GLAAD Media Awards will no longer take place on March 19th in New York City. The team at GLAAD has been in communication with the City of New York and is following the latest recommendations from Governor Cuomo. We were planning to unveil a historic get-out-the-vote campaign at the event because everything is at stake for LGBTQ Americans this election year, and are hopeful that the program and GLAAD’s ongoing work to fight against anti-LGBTQ discrimination will continue to be supported and funded. Since the event is canceled, our advocacy work will experience a loss of funding and we encourage community members and allies to consider becoming a GLAAD member to ensure this work continues. Join here.
We are beyond proud to honor Ryan Murphy and Judith Light, two trailblazing beacons of LGBTQ advocacy and inclusion, and we will ensure their game-changing work is rightfully recognized at another time. We are so thankful to our host Lilly Singh, performers Adam Lambert and Ben Platt, and all of the LGBTQ people who were working hard to ensure our stage show would once again send much-needed messages of LGBTQ acceptance around the globe.
We will be in touch with nominees shortly with plans for how award categories scheduled for the New York show will be announced, acknowledging that a GLAAD Media Award nomination or win can raise the bar for LGBTQ representation and serve as a catalyst for media executives to greenlight additional LGBTQ projects.
We are speaking with public health officials in Los Angeles about next month’s GLAAD Media Awards dinner and stage show. We will provide an update regarding that event in coming weeks.”
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 the most visible annual LGBTQ awards show in the world, sending powerful messages of acceptance to audiences globally. At the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in 2019, Beyoncé and JAY-Z, Andy Cohen, Madonna, and the casts of Pose and Queer Eye were among award recipients and honorees.
GLAAD previously announced over 175 nominees in 30 categories for the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Full list available here: /mediaawards/31/nominees.
GLAAD also announced Special Recognition honors for Netflix’s Special and for pioneering LGBTQ journalists Karen Ocamb and Mark Segal.
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