GLAAD
After Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker made a series of misogynistic, homophobic and transphobic remarks while quoting Taylor Swift during his commencement address at Benedictine College on Saturday (May 11), GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis decided to set the record straight. In a statement Wednesday (May 15) reacting to Butker’s speech — in which […]
Christina Aguilera embraced her inner “Fighter” on Thursday night when she spoke out at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles.
The “Dirrty” singer was in attendance to receive the organization’s advocate for change award, awarded to “a person who, through their work, has changed the game for LGBTQ people around the world.” Madonna and Bill Clinton previously received the award.
Presented her award by Michael Anderson, one of the survivors of the Club Q shooting in Colorado, Aguilera quickly thanked GLAAD and Anderson for the honor. “You have no idea how much this truly means to me,” she said. “This is the stuff that really matters in life.”
Launching into her speech, Aguilera spoke at length about her “lifelong” relationship with the LGBTQ community. “So much of who I am and what I do is because of each of you, and the shared experience of having to fight for equality and freedom in some capacity,” she said.
The “Genie in a Bottle” singer applauded the community for their continued endurance against an onslaught of attacks, especially from Republican legislators around the U.S. “I am constantly impressed by your examples of the courage it takes to fight for acceptance, respect and safety that every human being deserves,” she said. “When you’ve been a victim of violence, abuse or trauma, it is incredibly hard and scary to find your voice and fight back. Having grown up in a home with domestic violence, it was seeing my mom in a powerless position that first ignited the fire in me to speak up for all of the people whose voices don’t get heard.”
After speaking about her mission to “creatively empower others through my music,” Aguilera closed her speech by calling for queer people to keep up their fight for equality. “We all need to raise our voices if we want to live in a world that is free of discrimination, hate and violence,” she said. “My greater purpose is to use the platform I have to change lives for the better, so thank you GLAAD for this and for all that you do to make every voice in the LGBTQ community heard. We can’t help each other if we can’t hear each other.”
The singer was just one of the celebrities awarded on Thursday evening — Bad Bunny received the annual vanguard award for his allyship towards the community, while out Broadway star Jeremy Pope received the Stephen F. Kolzak award for his work in raising visibility for queer people in media.
Check out Christina Aguilera’s full acceptance speech at the GLAAD Media Awards below.
With queer representation on the rise in the music industry, GLAAD is ready to celebrate just how far we’ve come, with some help from Sony Music Group.
On Monday (March 6), GLAAD and Sony Music Group announced their partnership on “ICONS,” a new, three-part interview series that will explore the impact of the queer community on music. Each installment will focus on a different, modern LGBTQ performer, profiling Isaac Dunbar (March 10), Iniko (April 14) and MK xyz (May 12).
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According to a statement, each interview will hone in on the “deeply personal connection that exists between queerness and craft,” while also examining the ways in which the LGBTQ community has shaped pop culture at large, and how each artist broke through in the industry. The greater goal of the new series, both organizations say, is to “advance LGBTQ representation in music and within the industry at large.”
Tony Morrison, GLAAD’s senior director of communications, said in a statement that queer artists’ impact on the music industry is “undeniable,” which is what the series aims to explore. “It’s as important to honor the trailblazing legacies of LGBTQ icons in music, as it is equally imperative that we elevate new voices in music who have unique backgrounds and stories to tell,” he said. “‘ICONS’ establishes this path forward to increase the visibility of queer artists.”
Sony evp and chief diversity & inclusion officer Tiffany R. Warren agreed, highlighting the importance of using their “powerful platform” to uplift queer voices. “We believe that by exploring the impact that LGBTQ artists and songwriters have had on music, we can foster a deeper understanding of what it takes to break through as an LGBTQ artist,” she said. “This series is a testament to our commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion while breaking barriers in the music industry.”
The first episode of “ICONS,” featuring Isaac Dunbar, will premiere on GLAAD’s YouTube page Friday, March 10.
After Candace Cameron Bure’s latest interview, JoJo Siwa is calling out the Full House actress’ comments as nothing more than a straight flush.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday (Nov. 15), Siwa slammed Bure’s comments in a Wall Street Journal interview where the Fuller House star said she wouldn’t include LGBTQ couples in upcoming Christmas films on her conservative-leaning network, Great American Family. “Honestly, I can’t believe after everything that went down just a few months ago, that she would not only create a movie with intention of excluding LGBTQIA+, but then also talk about it in the press,” Siwa wrote. “This is rude and hurtful to a whole community of people.”
In her interview with the Journal, Bure spoke about her new executive role with Great American Media, in which she will produce and star in a series of Hallmark-style Christmas films. When asked in the interview about whether she would include LGBTQ characters in her work — as Hallmark did for the first time earlier this year — she said, “I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core.”
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Siwa was not the only person to call Bure out on her exclusionary comments. GLAAD issued a statement from their president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, in which she called out Bure’s intentional ignorance. “It’s irresponsible and hurtful for Candace Cameron Bure to use tradition as a guise for exclusion,” she wrote. “If GAF’s plan is to intentionally exclude stories about LGBTQ couples, then actors, advertisers, cable and streaming platforms, and production companies should take note and seriously consider whether they want to be associated with a network that holds exclusion as one of its values.”
Ellis also added that she was open to having a conversation with Bure on the topic. “I’d love to have a conversation with Bure about my wife, our kids, and our family’s traditions,” she said. “Bure is out of sync with a growing majority of people of faith, including LGBTQ people of faith, who know that LGBTQ couples and families are deserving of love and visibility.”
Siwa was also joined by actress Hilarie Burton, who called both Great American Family and Bure “disgusting” for their anti-LGBTQ comments. “Now they’re just openly admitting their bigotry,” she wrote. “I called this s–t out years ago when [CEO Bill] Abbott was at Hallmark. Glad they dumped him. Being LGBTQ isn’t a ‘trend’ … There is nothing untraditional about same-sex couples.”
This is far from the first time that Siwa and Bure have had words in public — earlier this year, the former Dance Moms star claimed that Bure was the “rudest” celebrity she’d ever met in a viral TikTok, with Bure later explaining that she had declined to take a photo with a then-11-year-old Siwa.
Check out Siwa’s Instagram post below.
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