GLAAD Media Awards: Bad Bunny, Christina Aguilera and Jeremy Pope set for honors

Recent Grammy winners Bad Bunny, Christina Aguilera and Jeremy Pope will be honored next month at the 34th annual GLAAD Media Awards for advancing and supporting the LGBTQ community.

Bad Bunny — Spotify’s most streamed artist in the world last year — will receive the Vanguard Award for “making a significant difference in promoting the acceptance and issues of LGBTQ people. Aguilera, a five-time Grammy winner, will receive the Advocate for Change Award for “changing the game for LGBTQ people worldwide.” And amputation Alum and two-time Tony nominee Pope will receive the Stephen F. Kolczak Award for making “a significant difference in raising the visibility and promoting the acceptance and issues of LGBTQ people.”

Read the bios for all three below. The awards show will be handed out during the March 30 ceremony at the Beverly Hilton.

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Bad Bunny’s advocacy and outspoken ally for the LGBTQ community has reached millions around the world, using his craft to speak out for equality. “Bad Bunny boldly uses his role as one of the world’s most popular music artists to shine a light on issues including LGBTQ people and transgender equality and ending violence against trans women,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “By consistently advocating for our community, elevating our stories and demanding action from anti-LGBTQ leaders, Bad Bunny has redefined the positive impact of Latin music artists in the LGBTQ community and set an example for all artists.”

Aguilera has used her platform to be a bold advocate for the LGBTQ community, through conversations around acceptance and more through music. “Christina Aguilera is a beloved icon who has inspired and shared messages of love for the LGBTQ community since the beginning of her music career,” said Ellis. “From using her voice to speak out against anti-LGBTQ laws to creating songs and music videos that showcase LGBTQ love, Christina is raising the bar loudly and proudly for what it means to be an LGBTQ ally today.”

Pope has broken barriers across Broadway, TV and film, earning two Tony Award nominations along with Grammy and Emmy noms. “Jeremy Pope is one of today’s most talented and dynamic actors who brings life and excitement to important stories that affect and honor the LGBTQ community,” said Ellis. “Offscreen, Pope has used his voice to have important conversations about being an out actor in Hollywood, which is key to erasing the stigma and prejudice that affects actors today.”

Here are mini-bios of GLAAD’s 2023 nominees:

bad rabbit

Named Spotify’s most streamed artist of 2022 with 8.3 billion streams worldwide, the three-time Grammy-winning artist has brought her own voice to the fore to help others see themselves in the world.

Since he reimagined the Latin urban music genre, LGBTQ people and issues have been a vanguard of equality and inclusion for him, especially in Puerto Rico, where he was born. Her live performances and music videos cast an array of voices, experiences, and backgrounds, putting queer love and affection on full display. For his music video for “Yo Perrerio Sola”, he dressed in drag and told Rolling Stone, “I did it to show support for people who need it. I may not be gay, but I’m a man.”

In a performance for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Rapper Alexa Negron paid tribute to Luciano, a trans woman murdered in Toa Baja, wearing a shirt in Spanish that read: “They killed Alexa, not a man in a skirt.” In 2019, the artist helped influence the movement to force former Puerto Rican governor, Ricardo Rosselló, from office after being exposed for corruption and anti-LGBTQ sentiments.

Moving from the sound booth to the big screen, Bad Bunny plans to executive produce the upcoming Netflix adaptation of the New York Times bestselling novel, “So Both Die in the End,” which features a queer Latinx story.

Previous GLAAD Vito Russo Award recipient Ricky Martin told Rolling Stone that Bad Bunny is an “icon of the Latino queer community.”

Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera, who has one of the most famous voices in history, has used her platform to be a bold advocate for the LGBTQ community, advancing the conversation about LGBTQ acceptance through music and more. Most recently, Club Q Colorado Springs shooting survivor Michael Anderson’s impact on the LGBTQ community was realized after his lyrics were spoken during testimony before the US House Oversight Committee on LGBTQ violence. In 2002, Aguilera dedicated her single, “Beautiful,” to the LGBTQ community, with the line “Words can’t bring us down” becoming a personal mantra for many queer people. The song brings a unique sense of awareness and compassion in the face of hatred, earning Aguilera a special recognition honor at the 14th GLAAD Media Awards. Last year, the seven-time Grammy winner celebrated 20 years of “Beautiful” with a brand new music video, reminding people of the importance of accepting themselves for who they are.

A staunch supporter of LGBTQ rights and a visionary for representation, Aguilera raised more than $500 million for HIV research with MAC Cosmetics in 2004, spoke out against Proposition 8 in 2008, and brought trans dancers and drag artists into the limelight during the 2012 American Music Awards. After the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Aguilera dedicated the song, “Change,” to the families of the victims from the song for those affected by the tragedy. He later wrote a “love letter to the LGBTQ community” for Billboard in 2017. Her own Pride collection was launched in 2021 to proudly support two non-profit organizations: TransTech and TransLash. Using the power of music to build bridges and change needs, Aguilera has redefined what it means to be a true advocate for the LGBTQ community, creating space for queer voices and talents to be known and enriched: from performing with groundbreaking LGBTQ artists like Anitta, Syd , Kim Petrus, Chica and Michaela Ja, for denouncing anti-LGBTQ laws like Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Jeremy Pope

Jeremy Pope is a versatile performer who has broken barriers across Broadway, television, and film, earning two Tony Award nominations, a Grammy Award nomination, an Emmy Award nomination, and a Golden Globe Award nomination.

Elegance His breakthrough film role as Alice French in Bratton’s autobiographical debut feature, “The Inspection,” follows a closeted black gay man through Marine Corps recruit training during the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” era. The performance earned him his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama, as well as a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination for “Best Lead Performance”.

Pope’s rise from stage to screen began in 2018, when he earned two Tony Award nominations in the same season – one for his Broadway debut performance for Best Lead Actor in a Play and a second nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play. Music for his performance in “Not Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations”. Pope soon starred in Ryan Murphy’s series “Hollywood,” where he earned an Emmy nomination for his lead performance as aspiring black screenwriter Archie Coleman. Pope also had a meaningful arc in “Pose,” and in the final season of the FX series, his character, Christopher, gave audiences a sense of visibility and belonging for those living with the trans experience and HIV.

Pope is about to wrap up his Broadway run as Jean-Michel Basquiat in Manhattan Theater Club’s “The Collaboration.” Later this year, he will be seen reprising the role on the big screen.