The 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards will honor Oprah Winfrey and Niecy Nash-Betts for their efforts in helping progress the LGBTQ community through their work in the entertainment industry.
Winfrey will be given GLAAD’s Vanguard Award, which spotlights “allies who have made a significant difference in promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues.” Winfrey, who previously won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Talk Show Episode for her interview with writer and producer Janet Mock in 2016, follows Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Beyoncé and more who have also received the honor.
“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 Tuesday. “A pioneer for diverse and inclusive media, she has shined a powerful light on HIV, on LGBTQ families and on coming out, which educated and moved countless around the world. When Oprah speaks, the world listens and our community cherishes her as an unapologetic ally, especially to transgender people. Winfrey’s commanding career will forever align her on the right side of history.”
Meanwhile, Nash-Betts will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award, which is given to “a LGBTQ media professional who has made a significant difference in raising visibility and promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues.” Laverne Cox, Wanda Sykes, Ruby Rose and more have previously received the award. In 2021, Nash-Betts hosted the GLAAD Media Awards, and two years later she was honored with the Visibility Award by Family Equality for working with the organization to support and protect LGBTQ families.
”Opening doors both as a Black and queer woman, Niecy Nash-Bett’s outstanding legacy as a performer gives new meaning to the term trailblazer,” Ellis added. “Her decades-long career is owed to her empathy, talent and authenticity, which undoubtedly inform each move she makes as an activist and every role she portrays onscreen. Nash 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.”
Aside from Winfrey and Nash-Betts, other Hollywood stars are slated to attend, including Victoria Monét, Matt Bomer, Jason Sudeikis, Jonathan Bailey, Alexandra Shipp, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and more. The event’s afterparty will feature a musical performance by David Archuleta.
Wayne Brady will host the ceremony in Los Angeles on March 14. A second ceremony will then be held in New York City on May 11.
