Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony-winning singer, actress, and producer Jennifer Hudson will receive GLAAD’s Excellence in Media Award and groundbreaking gay country artist Orville Peck will receive the Vito Russo Award at the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York on Saturday, May 11th hosted by Emmy-winning television host and producer Ross Mathews.
GLAAD’s Excellence in Media Award is presented to allies who have made a significant difference in promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people. Previous Excellence in Media Award honorees include Marren Morris, Judith Light, Ava DuVernay, Patti LaBelle, Debra Messing, Tyra Banks, Julianne Moore, Barbara Walters, and Diane Sawyer. This year “The Jennifer Hudson Show”, produced and hosted by Jennifer Hudson, is nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Variety or Talk Show Episode for an episode in 2023 which featured a $10,000 surprise for HIV activists to continue the life-saving work in their community to eliminate barriers for Black queer Texans.
“A multi-hyphenate talent who uses her platform and influence across media to support and uplift LGBTQ people, Jennifer Hudson’s allyship is thoughtful, loud, and powerful,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “Most recently, she champions our community on her talk show by regularly shining a bright light on inspiring LGBTQ changemakers for audiences everywhere.”
After rising to fame in 2004 as a finalist on the third season American Idol, Hudson quickly gained the support and adoration of many LGBTQ fans, and since she has been an outspoken ally and champion for inclusion for the LGBTQ community, namely being a staunch supporter of marriage equality in 2014. In her 2015 music video to her single, “I Still Love You,” Hudson proudly told the story of a father’s last-minute decision to attend the wedding of his gay son.
Hudson is also the youngest female EGOT winner in history, achieving EGOT status following her Tony Award-win for Best Musical for A Strange Loop, which she served as a producer on. In 2016, Hudson was also part of the cast that won the Tony Award for Best Musical Theater Album for The Color Purple, playing Shug Avery in the Broadway revival. Hudson debuted her one-hour nationally syndicated talk show in 2022 which has made it a priority to feature powerful LGBTQ voices and issues in new, thought-provoking ways, bringing fun, uplifting, and empowering conversations around LGBTQ experiences to the forefront of mainstream audiences.
The Vito Russo Award is presented to an LGBTQ media professional who has made a significant difference in accelerating LGBTQ acceptance. The Award is named after Vito Russo, a founder of GLAAD and celebrated ACT UP activist, who pushed open the door for news and entertainment industries to include LGBTQ performers and stories. Previous Vito Russo honorees include Wilson Cruz, Billy Porter, Anderson Cooper, Ricky Martin, Andy Cohen, RuPaul, Cynthia Nixon, Samira Wiley, and George Takei.
“Orville Peck has paved a new frontier for artists in a genre historically exclusionary of queer voices. By boldly navigating country music as an out gay man and collaborating with legends like Willie Nelson and Lady Gaga, Peck has cemented himself in the industry and showed our community that they belong in all spaces,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.
Peck stampeded into the Country music scene in 2019 with his debut album, Pony, upending industry norms and what it means to be an LGBTQ artist in Country music. With his collaborations and covers, Peck has inspired cross-cultural allyship and conversation. In 2020, he released a duet with Shania Twain, “Legends Never Die,” and later teamed with Trixie Mattel for a rendition of the Johnny Cash/June Carter classic “Jackson.” He also put his own country-tinged spin on Lady Gaga’s 2011 hit “Born This Way”, and released a series of follow-up EPs leading up to his 2022 full-length album Bronco.
In 2023, Peck took his talents to television on Apple TV+’s singing competition My Kind of Country. Produced by Reese Witherspoon and Kacey Musgraves, Peck was one of the three scouts who mentor up-and-coming country artists on the show. Peck recently joined forces with the legendary Willie Nelson for a cover of “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other,” his first release since signing with Warner Records. The track is accompanied by a striking video directed by Ben Prince, which boasts an appearance from Nelson.
The GLAAD Media Awards honor media for fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of LGBTQ people and issues. GLAAD announced recipients for 16 of this year’s 33 categories for the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles in March, which is now streaming now on Hulu. Remaining winners for select categories—including Queer Fan Favorite, Outstanding Reality Program, Outstanding Variety or Talk Show Episode, Outstanding Podcast, Outstanding Film (Streaming Or TV), Outstanding Documentary, Outstanding New Series, Outstanding Broadway Production, Outstanding Kids & Family Programming or Film (Live Action), and Outstanding Blog (for which The Queer Review is among the nominees)—will be announced at GLAAD’s New York Ceremony on Saturday, May 11th, 2024.
Since its inception in 1990, the GLAAD Media Awards have grown to be the most visible annual LGBTQ awards show in the world, sending powerful messages of acceptance to audiences globally. The nominees for the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards were published, released, or broadcast between January 1st, 2023 and December 31st, 2023. For a full list of nominees, click here.
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