Held in New York on 13 May, the celebration was hosted by Harvey Guillén from FX’s What We Do In The Shadows.
The star-studded event, which announced the organisation’s second batch of recipients, featured appearances from Trixie Mattel, Colman Domingo, Bob The Drag Queen, L Morgan Lee, Bowen Yang, Tamron Hall, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, AnnaSophia Robb, Christian Siriano, Ross Matthews, Jonathan Bennett, Karine Jean-Pierre, Michael Graceffa and more.
The LGBTQ+ inclusive ceremony also featured Wicked star Idina Menzel, who delivered stunning performances of Defying Gravity and her new single Move.
Country music star Maren Morris was presented with the Excellence in Media Award by Drag Race stars Alyssa Edwards and Cynthia Lee Fontaine for her continuous support of the LGBTQ+ community.
“I have heard countless times over the years that I’m one of the brave voices in country music but that is not true. I’m not brave –– stubborn to the point of delusional, yes – but not brave. Making the right decision shouldn’t take bravery or courage. It shouldn’t take heroic effort to want basic equal rights for everybody,” Morris told the crowd.
“I’m a straight white woman — I’m fine. But leaving your house knowing you can face violence just for being who you are, risking your life just for walking down the street, that is bravery.”
Morris also threw some shade towards former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, stating: “Fine, maybe I felt a little badass taking Tucker Carlson’s calling me a lunatic for standing up to transphobia, turning it into a T-shirt and raising $150,000 for LGBTQ+ charities, yeah.”
She added: “That made me feel a little cool, but I don’t want to gloat. I would never insult the recently unemployed.”
Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness was honoured with the Vito Russo Award, which “recognises an openly LGBTQ media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equality and acceptance.”
After viewing a montage of his achievements, the beloved reality star and hair expert delivered a powerful speech condemning conservative lawmakers for introducing hateful anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
“If you haven’t noticed, we are in the midst of an attack on LGBTQIA+ freedom. I live in Texas, that is a place to live right now, and this year alone in the country, we have faced 540 anti-LGBTQ+ state bills, which is a record,” Van Ness said.
The Getting Curious podcast host ended his speech by encouraging the community to fight back against conservative lawmakers by working with their local LGBTQ+ organisations.
Lastly, Joel Kim Booster’s hit LGBTQ+ romantic comedy Fire Island won the Outstanding Film-Streaming/TV award.
During his acceptance speech, Booster highlighted the ongoing WGA strike by encouraging attendees to support the picketing writers.
“Writing this movie was the greatest honour of my life. It’s the thing I’m most proud of, and I am so proud to be a member of the Writers Guild of America,” he said.
“I can’t thank them enough for giving me – for creating a framework that made this movie not only just a hobby but life-changing for me economically.
“I hope that you all stand in solidarity with us as we move forward. Labour issues are queer issues. Corporate greed is homophobia. Pay us. They want to replace us with AI, and I can tell you now definitively that AI does not have the trama, the joy, the lived experience to create any of these stories that we are honouring tonight.”
“Writing this movie was the greatest honor of my life. It’s the thing I’m most proud of and I am so proud to be a member of the Writers Guild of America.” @ihatejoelkim #GLAADawards #WGAStrong pic.twitter.com/QyQvEIxaZt
— GLAAD (@glaad) May 14, 2023
Other major winners from the 34th GLAAD Media Awards included HBO’s We’re Here, Netflix’s Dead End: Paranormal Park and the Tony Award-winning musical A Strange Loop. See the complete list of winners below.
Outstanding Film – Streaming/TV: Fire Island (Hulu) Anything’s Possible (Prime Video)
Outstanding Reality Series: We’re Here (HBO)
Outstanding Variety or Talk Show Episode: The Problem With Jon Stewart (Apple TV+)
Outstanding Online Journalism: Logo’s Trans Youth Town Hall (Logo)
Outstanding Kids & Family Programming: Heartstopper (Netflix)
Outstanding Kids & Family Programming- Animated: Dead End: Paranormal (Netflix)
Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist: Dove Cameron (Columbia Records)
Outstanding Broadway Production: A Strange Loop
Outstanding Video Game: Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
Outstanding TV Journalism Segment: In Real Life’s HIV in the Deep South (Scripps News)
Outstanding TV Journalism – Long-Form: PRIDE/To Be Seen Soul of a Nation (ABC)
Outstanding Live TV Journalism – Segment or Special: The Last Thing Before We Go: Stephanie Ruhle Talks Spirit Day The 11th Hour (MSNBC)
Outstanding Print Article: Pediatricians Who Serve Trans Youth Face Increasing Harassment. Lifesaving Care Could Be on the Line” by Madeleine Carlisle (Time)
Outstanding Online Journalism Article: Alabama Is Trying to Raise the Legal Driving Age for Trans People to 19 by Nico Lang (TheDailyBeast.com)
Outstanding Blog: Mombian
Outstanding Podcast: TransLash Podcast With Imara Jones (TransLash Media) and Sibling Rivalry (Studio71) (Tie)
Outstanding Spanish-Language Online Journalism Article: Proyectos de ley anti LGBTQ+ en Florida son una ‘licencia para discriminar’ y reviven el dolor de Pulse, dicen grupos locales por Jennifer A. Marcial Ocasio (OrlandoSentinel.com)
Outstanding Spanish-Language Online Journalism – Video or Multimedia: Las abuelas trans buscan dignificar su vejez por Liliana