In alphabetical order
This important award recognises and thanks those outside the LGBT+ community who support the challenges around equality and inclusion.
CHARLI XCX
The electro-pop superstar has long had a strong fanbase in the LGBT+ community. Charli’s has championed queer artists such as Brooke Candy, Pabllo Vittar, Troye Sivan and Christine and the Queens through collaborations in both her albums, and has even put on a queer music festival, Go West Fest. Charli actively participates in the experiences of her LGBT+ fans also.
DERMOT O’LEARY
Popular radio and TV Show host Dermot O’Leary is a longstanding ally of the LGBT+ community. He frequently features interviews with leading LGBT+ personalities on his BBC Radio 2 show and covers issues affecting LGBT+ groups on ITV’s This Morning. If that’s not enough, the X Factor host took the Catholic church to task recently after a leading bishop condemned Pride festivals, tweeting ‘this isn’t the middle ages. You don’t speak for me or any other Catholic i know.’ He’s also been seen supporting the LGBT+ community at Brighton Pride.
EUGENE LEVY
Canadian actor Eugene Levy has been a household name long before his success in Schitt’s Creek. As a proud father to LGBT+ child, Dan Levy, Eugene has actively advocated on behalf of the LGBT+ community. He also champions other causes, including autism awareness, and is a member of the charity Artists Against Racism. In recent years, Eugene’s success has definitely been tied to his work on Schitt’s Creek, a satirical sitcom created by Levy and his son. The show has frequently tackled issues of sexuality and has even won a GLAAD Media Award for its portrayal of LGBT+ people.
GEORGE CLOONEY
Known best for his work in TV and film, George Clooney has also made a name for himself as a philanthropist. As a serving United Nations Messengers of Peace since 2008, Clooney wrote an open letter in 2019 calling for the boycott of the Sultan of Brunei’s hotels in response to the country’s homophobic legislations, which persecuted homosexuality with a death sentence. He launched a similar campaign in 2014, which gained the attention of celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Stephen Fry.
JANE FONDA
As an actress and an activist, Fonda has consistently strived for inclusion and representation of the LGBT+ community, environmentalism and feminist causes. In the 1970s when there was very little mainstream support for the LGBT+ community, Fonda used her position in Hollywood to actively campaign for LGBT+ rights. In the wake of San Francisco’s White Night Riots, she told an interviewer that ‘culturally, psychologically, economically, politically, gays and lesbians are discriminated against.’ Since then, Fonda has a proven track record of her activism, through ‘You Are Not Alone’ campaigns to show support to LGBT+ youth, to Grace and Frankie, which has given a voice to elder LGBT+ issues. Fonda is, unequivocally, an ally for the community.
JENNIFER LOPEZ
From producing The Fosters, a show about a biracial lesbian couple and their family, to her love letters to the LGBT+ community, and her outspoken and longstanding support for same-sex marriage, it’s no surprise that Jenny from the block has been recognised for her LGBT+ advocacy. Jen has previously been the recipient of the 2014 Vanguard Award from GLAAD. J Lo is also a supportive family member to her nibling, Brendon, and their transition, publically expressing her joy at them embracing their identity.
JENNIFER SAUNDERS
Comedian, screenwriter and actress, Jennifer Saunders is not only an icon within the LGBT+ community, she is Absolutely Fabulous. From French and Saunders and Ab Fab, through to her voicework in Shrek, and Coraline, Saunders is without doubt, a figurehead of British comedy. Saunders has been recognised frequently for her contributions to the British Arts, including the receiving of an OBE, and has long been a supporter of the LGBT+ community, from the multiple references to LGBT+ identities (and wanting Saffi to be a lesbian) in Absolutely Fabulous, to opening Pride in London in 2016.
JODIE COMER
Famed for her portrayal of the bisexual assassin, Villanelle in Killing Eve, Jodie Comer has gained a large following within the LGBT+ community – and for good reason. Comer takes pride in the sexual fluidity of the characters she portrays, stating to Entertainment Weekly that Villanelle’s casual bisexuality has always been one of her favourite things about the character: “The fact that she’s unapologetically herself and free with her sexuality — that’s what’s so refreshing. It’s just a part of her. That’s what I love about her.” Comer has also just had a cameo appearance in the new Star Wars blockbuster, The Rise of Skywalker
MELANIE C
The sportiest of the spices, Melanie C is vocal about causes close to her heart. Melanie has utilised her solo career and in particular, her single High Heels to shine a light on LGBT+ performers. For her 2019 tour and music video, she collaborated closely with Sink the Pink, a London-based drag collective. Melanie told the Guardian that she marvels at the “privilege” of spending time in queer and non-binary communities and that she was shocked by the prevalence of transphobia in British culture and sport. “We have to move on… Things change. Thank goodness people are able to be who they truly feel they are rather than living miserable lives or secret lives. It’s something that has to be acknowledged and addressed.”
MICHELLE VISAGE
Michelle’s allyship to the LGBT+ community is not only seen through her work on RuPaul’s Drag Race, but also in the steps she has taken to talk about LGBT+ issues. From offering advice on allyship in an Advocate video in December last year, to her heart-warming open love letter to the LGBT+ community in Billboard, there is no question of Visage’s advocacy. As a singer, host, radio DJ, producer and media personality, Michelle was voted off Strictly Come Dancing for a voguing-inspired dance. She told the judges it was an ode to the drag queens in Harlem in the 1960s, and the debt she owes the LGBT+ community for welcoming her when she was a troubled teen in New York.
