Janelle Monáe to Receive Trailblazer Award at 2022 Outfest Legacy Awards Gala (EXCLUSIVE)
Janelle Monáe is set to be honored with the Trailblazer Award at the 2022 Outfest Legacy Awards.
The special salute will be presented at Outfrest’s annual gala, held at Paramount Studios on Sat., Oct. 22, which marks the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization’s 40th anniversary.
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The Trailblazer Award, presented by IMDb, recognizes Monáe’s role as an artist who has consistently shown her support for the LGBTQ+ community at large through her Grammy-nominated music and critically acclaimed acting. Monáe’s latest starring role will be seen in Netflix’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” set for release in December.
“The Outfest Legacy Awards has become one of entertainment’s most respected and meaningful industry events that spotlight the artists, leadership and organizations that have significantly contributed to queer representation and advocacy across media, arts and entertainment,” stated Outfest executive director Damien S. Navarro. “We invite the world to join us in lifting up our awardees who have collectively inspired a new generation of creators, storytellers, and audiences — carving a path for tomorrow’s artists.”
Glamazon — Amazon’s diversity & inclusion network for LGBTQ+ employees and their allies — will also be honored at the gala, receiving the Guardian Award which recognizes a company’s commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community. Kerri Stoughton-Jackson, the Deputy Director of Outfest, will receive the Jonathan Howard Legacy Award, honoring her outstanding leadership efforts and her nearly twenty years of service.
Past Outfest Awards recipients include Billy Porter, Tom Hanks, Judith Light, Rita Moreno, Lee Daniels, Elliot Page, Octavia Spencer, Hillary Swank, Sean Hayes, Laverne Cox, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Bruce Cohen, Lisa Cholodenko, Craig Zadan & Neil Merdon, Tanya Saracho, Victoria Alonso and Rain Valdez, among others.
Outfest’s organizational goals seek to promote empathy for the global LGBTQ+ community, careers for its members in the entertainment industry and the exhibition and preservation of LGBTQIA+ stories and voices across entertainment. Additional sponsors for this year’s gala alongside IMDB include Bank of America, Paramount Studios, ABC7 Los Angeles and On The Red Carpet, Variety, Equal Pride and Out Magazine.
Tickets for the gala are on sale now at the organization’s website.
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