Taylor Swift and Janet Mock will be honored at the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards for their LGBTQ advocacy.
Congratulations to @janetmock and @taylorswift13, who will both be honored at the #GLAADawards in Los Angeles. Thank you both for all you do to promote acceptance for LGBTQ people. pic.twitter.com/9PeVGDcyIp
— Sarah Kate Ellis (@sarahkateellis) January 7, 2020
Swift will receive the Vanguard Award, given to LGBTQ allies who have made a difference in promoting equality. The singer receives the accolade for her song “You Need to Calm Down,” the music video of which featured a pro-LGBTQ message and many well-known queer faces; her advocacy for the Equality Act; and for making a donation of more than $100,000 to a local Tennessee LGBTQ organization.
“From boldly standing up against anti-LGBTQ elected officials to shining attention on the urgent need to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination through the Equality Act, Taylor Swift proudly uses her unique ability to influence pop culture to promote LGBTQ acceptance,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. “In a time of political and cultural division, Taylor creates music that unites and calls on her massive fan following to speak up and call for change.”
Past recipients of the Vanguard Award include Beyonce and Jay-Z, Cher, Jennifer Lopez, Patricia Arquette, and Elizabeth Taylor.
Mock will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award, given to an LGBTQ person in the media who has used their platform to promote LGBTQ equality. Mock became the first transgender woman of color to write and direct a broadcast television show with Pose. She also started #GirlsLikeUs to offer “sisterhood, solidarity, and empowerment” to fellow trans women and wrote a book, Redefining Realness.
“Janet Mock is a trailblazing force for diverse and inclusive storytelling who has raised the bar for LGBTQ representation in Hollywood,” Ellis said in a statement. “She tells stories that need to be told, including those of transgender people and people of color, in revolutionary and eye-opening ways that inspire and enrich.”
Both women will receive their awards at the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on April 16.