GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, today announced that it will host a virtual ceremony for the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards on Thursday, July 30 in place of the original ceremonies planned for earlier this year.
The event will stream on GLAAD’s Facebook and YouTube on July 30 at 8pm ET and will air on Logo on August 3 at 8pm ET.
The 31st Annual 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 be the most visible annual LGBTQ awards show in the world, sending powerful messages of acceptance to audiences globally. The 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards are presented by Delta Air Lines, Gilead, P&G, and Wells Fargo. For more information, visit www.glaad.org/mediaawards and follow @glaad and #glaadawards.
GLAAD announced that comedians Fortune Feimster and Gina Yashere will host the virtual ceremony on July 30, which will feature a special performance from Grammy-nominated duo Chloe x Halle. GLAAD also announced that special guests Cara Delevingne (Suicide Squad, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets), Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart), WWE superstar Sonya Deville, Beanie Feldstein (Booksmart), Jonica T. Gibbs (Twenties), Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek), Lil Nas X, Rachel Maddow (The Rachel Maddow Show), Ryan O’Connell (Special), Dolly Parton, Peppermint (RuPaul’s Drag Race, Head Over Heels), the cast and producers of Pose, trans model and advocate Geena Rocero, Angelica Ross (Pose, American Horror Story), comedian Benito Skinner, Brian Michael Smith (9-1-1: Lone Star, The L Word: Generation Q), Dwyane Wade & Gabrielle Union, Lena Waithe (Master of None, Queen & Slim, Twenties), Olivia Wilde (Booksmart, House), and Raquel Willis (Writer, Activist, Director of Communications – Ms. Foundation) will appear during the virtual event.
“Among this year’s nominees are a wide range of stories and narratives about LGBTQ people of different races, ethnicities, genders, religions, and other identities that demonstrate the power of inclusion and diversity in fostering positive cultural change,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “As this year’s Media Awards go virtual, we hope to send a powerful message to LGBTQ people that in the midst of this culturally and politically divisive time, our visibility and voices have never been more important.”
In January, GLAAD announced over 175 nominees in 30 categories, including the returning category for Outstanding Broadway Production. The Outstanding Kids & Family Programming category expanded to ten nominees as a result of an increase in LGBTQ images across the kids and family television programming and an increase in GLAAD’s work to advocate for inclusion in this genre. GLAAD also announced Special Recognition honors for Netflix’s Special and for pioneering LGBTQ journalists Karen Ocamb and Mark Segal. For a full list of nominees for the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards, click here.
As racial and ethnic diversity continues to grow within the media industry, this year’s nominees include powerful and impactful stories about LGBTQ people of color. Several of the nominated television series include series leads that are LGBTQ people of color, including: Euphoria, Killing Eve, The L Word: Generation Q, Pose, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Dear White People, One Day at a Time, Superstore, Vida, and Tales of the City. A tip sheet with an additional breakdown of diversity as well as other facts and figures about this year’s nominees is available here.
Earlier this year, GLAAD announced that the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies that were originally planned for New York (March 19) and Los Angeles (April 16) would no longer take place in accordance with guidance from New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and California State Governor Gavin Newsom around COVID-19.
The 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards are presented by Delta Air Lines, Gilead, P&G, and Wells Fargo. GLAAD is also grateful to: Major Partners The Ariadne Getty Foundation and Skittles; Titanium Partners Bud Light, Kaiser Permanente, NBA/WNBA, Netflix, PwC, Signet Jewelers; and Gold Partners Coca-Cola, MLB, Nickelodeon, and Nielsen.
