Iconic pop star Madonna is set to receive the prestigious Advocate for Change Award at the 30th GLAAD Media Awards, which is set for May 4 in New York City.
GLAAD, LGBTQ media charity organization, will honor Madonna for her activism on behalf of the LGBTQ community. She wil be the second person to ever receive this award.
Madonna and the GLAAD Advocate for Change Award
GLAAD lauded Madonna’s advocacy on LGBTQ issues within the US and outside, from the HIV crisis in 1989 to a recent concert at Stonewall Inn marking its 50th anniversary.
GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said: “Madonna always has and always will be the LGBTQ community’s greatest ally and it is only fitting to honor and celebrate our biggest advocate at GLAAD’s biggest event ever.”
The first time the Advocate for Change Award was given out was during the 2013 GLAAD Media Awards to former President Bill Clinton for overturning the Defense of Marriage Act and supporting marriage equality.
At that time, Madonna presented the Vito Russo Award to CNN journalist Anderson Cooper while wearing a Boy Scouts of America uniform to protest their then-ban against gay leaders and scout members.
Ellis said that Madonna “fearlessly pushes for a world where LGBTQ people are accepted.”
“Her music and art have been life-saving outlets for LGBTQ people over the years and her affirming words and actions have changed countless hearts and minds,” she added.
Madonna and her advocacy for the LGBTQ community
When Madonna released her her fourth studio album, “Like a Prayer,” she included a leaflet that raised awareness about HIV and safe sex entitled, “The Facts about AIDS.”
Likewise, she addressed the New Year’s Eve crowd at Stonewall: ““I stand here proudly at the place where pride began, the legendary Stonewall Inn, on the birth of a new year.”
She added: “We come together tonight to celebrate 50 years of revolution, 50 years of freedom fighting, 50 years of blood, sweat, and tears. Can I get an amen?”
Likewise, in 2012, Madonna distributed pink wristbands to concertgoers attending a St. Petersburg concert to protest the city’s ban on “homosexual propaganda.”
She also called for “respect, tolerance, and love” for the LGBTQ community during the concert, saying: “We want to fight for the right to be free.”
She was later charged for violating the city ban, but these charges were later dropped.
GLAAD Advocate for Change Award for Game-changers
The Advocate for Change Award is given to those deemed by GLAAD to have “changed the game for LGBTQ people around the world” through their work.
GLAAD is a non-governmental media monitoring organization founded by LGBTQ people working in media. The awards they give recognize and honor the media for outstanding LGBTQ representations and issues affect the community.
The first GLAAD awards were given in 1990 recognizing the 1989 season.
Among the Hollywood film nominees that were selected for their upcoming 30th annual Media Awards were: “Blockers,” “Deadpool 2,” “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Love, Simon,” and “The Girl in the Spider’s Web.”
However, the awards refused to recognize the Freddie Mercury bio-pic “Bohemian Rhapsody” due to sexual allegations against the film’s director, Bryan Singer.
The media awards will be held in Los Angeles on March 28 at the Beverly Hilton and in New York on May 4 at the New York Hilton Midtown.