Taylor Swift And Janet Mock To Receive Huge GLAAD Honors For LGBTQ Advocacy Work

Taylor Swift and Janet Mock will join the ranks of stars celebrated by GLAAD for promoting LGBTQ acceptance this spring through their work. 

Swift will receive the Vanguard Award, presented to allies who have “made a significant difference in promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people,” at the 2020 GLAAD Media Awards ceremony in Los Angeles April 16. 

Meanwhile, Mock will be honored with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award, given annually to a “LGBTQ media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting LGBTQ acceptance.” 

In a Tuesday statement sent to HuffPost, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis praised Swift for “proudly [using] her unique ability to influence pop culture to promote LGBTQ acceptance.” 

She continued, “In a time of political and cultural division, Taylor creates music that unites and calls on her massive fan following to speak up and call for change.” 

In the past, Swift has been criticized for steering clear of politics in interviews and performances. That changed last year when the singer publicly expressed her support for the Equality Act, a comprehensive anti-discrimination bill, which was a top legislative priority for many in the LGBTQ rights movement.

She also name-dropped GLAAD in her 2019 song “You Need to Calm Down,” which was accompanied by a music video featuring Ellen DeGeneres, Billy Porter and Adam Rippon, among other LGBTQ stars. She also visited New York’s Stonewall Inn for a surprise performance in honor of Pride Month in June. (Swift’s actions, however, have garnered a number of detractors.) 

As for Mock, the activist and author is on the creative team of NBC’s “Pose.” Last year, she also signed a landmark Netflix deal that will encompass both television and film projects. 

“[Mock] tells stories that need to be told, including those of transgender people and people of color, in revolutionary and eye-opening ways that inspire and enrich,” Ellis said. “Her passion for inclusive storytelling, combined with her undeniable talents in writing, directing, and producing, will continue to create a Hollywood where voices and stories that have been left out of the conversation are placed front and center where they belong.”

Additional honorees for the 2020 GLAAD Media Awards, which “honor media for fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of LGBTQ people and issues,” will be announced soon. As in previous years, the 31st edition of the awards will be presented at two ceremonies, March 19 in New York and April 16 in Los Angeles.