Wanda Sykes will host the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Beverly Hilton on April 12. Photo: Roger Erickson.
BEVERLY HILLS — Wanda Sykes will host the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Beverly Hilton on April 12, GLAAD announced today.
The Media Awards honor media for fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of LGBTQ people and issues.
Also, Lena Waithe, Olympian Adam Rippon, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Gigi Gorgeous are scheduled to make special appearances, the group said in a press statement.
GLAAD, the LGBTQ media advocay group, previously announced that Britney Spears would receive an honor at the event.
BRITNEY SPEARS
Spears will receive will receive the Vanguard Award, which is given to media professionals “who have made a significant difference in promoting equality and acceptance of LGBTQ people.”
Spears has lent her support for LGBTQ youth on GLAAD’s Spirt Day by speaking out against bully.
In 2016, Spears was among more than 20 singers and musicians who appeared on GLAAD’s song “Hands,” a tribute to the 49 people killed at the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting.
Last year, Spears was among 140 entertainers who signed an open letter against two anti-LGBTQ bills that targeted transgender youth in Texas and were later defeated. Most recently, Spears sparked global attention when, via Instagram, she wore a “We Are All Dreamers” T-shirt and told Congress to pass the Dream Act.
Undocumented, queer characters in ‘Undocumented Tales’ are portrayed as human beings
WANDA SYKES ACTIVIST
In 2008, Sykes was a vocal opponent of California’s Prop. 8, which outlawed marriage equality before it was ruled unconstitutional for violating the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses in the 14th Amendment.
Sykes co-stars on ABC’s “Blackish” and Hulu’s “Broad City.”
Sykes was also on an episode of Disney Junior’s “Doc McStuffins,” where she and Portia de Rossi voiced to a queer couple who receive help from the show’s titular character. The episode, “The Emergency Plan,” is one of the nominees for the inaugural ‘Outstanding Kids & Family Programming’ award.
In January, GLAAD announced the 125 nominees in 21 English-language categories and 16 Spanish-language nominees in four categories for its media awards.
