GLAAD, the world’s LGBT media advocacy organization, has announced the nominees for its 27th Annual GLAAD Media Awards.
Among its nominations were the movies Carol and The Danish Girl, and TV series like FOX’s hit drama Empire; Netflix’s Sense8, Master of None, Orange Is the New Black, and Grace and Frankie; Amazon’s Transparent; and HBO’s Bessie.
More importantly, the event recognizes and honors media for their fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of the LGBT community and the issues that affect their lives.
The best of the GLAAD Media Awards
With presenting partners Delta Air Lines, Hilton, Ketel One Vodka, and Wells Fargo, the GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies will be held in Los Angeles on April 2 at The Beverly Hilton, and in New York on May 14 at the Waldorf Astoria New York.
The nominees of the 27th Annual GLAAD Media Awards were anything that was published, released, or broadcast between January 1 and December 31, 2015.
“For nearly three decades, the GLAAD Media Awards have propelled inclusion in media and driven LGBT acceptance forward,” said GLAAD CEO & President Sarah Kate Ellis.
“This year’s nominees have raised the bar for creating thoughtful and diverse LGBT images and storylines, deepening audiences’ understanding of LGBT people and accelerating acceptance across the world,” Ellis said.
Likewise, for the first time in nearly a decade, the GLAAD Media Awards will be televised exclusively on Logo in a one-hour special premiering in April 2016.
“Logo is honored and proud to partner with GLAAD to celebrate the people and media who best represent the LGBT community,” said Chris McCarthy, General Manager of VH1 and Logo Networks.
The nominees of the GLAAD Media Awards
Aside from TV and movie nominees, the other nominees include: Golden Globe nominee Grandma; Film Independent Spirit Award nominees Appropriate Behavior and Tangerine; ABC’s 20/20 for Diane Sawyer interview with Caitlyn Jenner; and E!’s I Am Cait, and TLC’s I Am Jazz (both reality programs headlined by transgender people).
Also cited were CBS’ The Bold and The Beautiful; The New York Times for its “Transgender Today” series; ESPN’s SportsCenter; Essence Magazine; and Troye Sivan for his debut album Blue Neighbourhood.
Discovery Life’s New Girls on the Block was also nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program. The series was the first to embed with a real group of female friends within the transgender community.
“We are excited to have been nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for New Girls on the Block. We are so proud of the group of highly inspirational and entertaining women who opened their lives to our viewers,” said Howard Lee, General Manager of Discovery Life.
Meanwhile, Spanish-language nominees include Ricky Martin for his new album A quien quiera escuchar. Also nominated was Telemundo morning show Un Nuevo Día, which received nominations for its interviews with Patricia Velásquez, the supermodel and actress who came out this year, and with transgender advocate Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen and his supportive mom, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
Univision’s Al Punto was nominated for its story about transgender people in the military; and Univision.com for its article profiling couples instrumental to achieving marriage equality nationwide.
CNN en Español earned six nominations for its coverage of LGBT issues. This year, GLAAD added Local Television Interview to its Spanish-language categories to recognize the increasing coverage of LGBT stories by local affiliates across the country.
There were a total 101 nominees in 20 English-language categories and 46 Spanish-language nominees in 11 categories in the GLAAD Media Awards.