Oprah Winfrey and Niecy Nash-Betts will be honored at the 35th GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on March 14.
Winfrey will receive GLAAD’s Vanguard Award, which is presented for allies for making a significant difference in promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues.
Nash-Betts will be presented with the GLAAD Stephen F.Kolzak Award, which honors an LGBTQ media professional who has made a significant difference in raising visibility and promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues.
“At a time when it was potentially career-ending to support LGBTQ people, Oprah Winfrey did what’s right and championed our community’s stories,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement, in part, Tuesday. “A pioneer for diverse and inclusive media, she shines a powerful light on HIV, coming out, LGBTQ people, our families and the challenges we face which educated and moved countless around the world.”
Nash-Betts, who hosted the GLAAD Media Awards in 2021, “has redefined and expanded the role of Black queer women in entertainment and, along with her wife Jessica, has become a possibility model to queer women everywhere,” Ellis said.
Previous honorees of the Vanguard Awards include Bad Bunny, Beyoncé and JAY-Z, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Kerry Washington, Cher, Janet Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor,Kacey Musgraves and Antonio Banderas.
Previous recipients of the Zolczak Award include:Jeremy Pope, Laverne Cox, Wanda Sykes, Jim Parsons, Ruby Rose, Chaz Bono, Melissa Etheridge, Ellen DeGeneres, MichaelaJae Rodriguez, among others.
Hosted by Wayne Brady, the 2024 GLAAD Media Awards will feature special guests, including Alexandra Shipp (Anyone But You), Daniel Franzese (Mean Girls, Looking), Heather Dubrow (The Real Housewives of Orange County), Jason Sudeikis, and the cast from Ted Lasso, Jonathan Bailey (Fellow Travelers), Matt Bomer (Fellow Travelers), Meredith Marks (The RealHousewives of Salt Lake City), Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (Loot), Michelle Visage (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Victoria Monét (3x Grammy-Winning Artist), and the cast from RuPaul’s Drag Race. Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist nominee David Archuleta will perform at the official GLAAD Media Awards After-Party.
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