Janelle Monáe is a pressure to be reckoned with, even past the leisure sphere. In recognition of the non-binary musician’s continued philanthropy and highly effective messaging of being your genuine self, Monáe acquired the Trailblazer Award at the 40th annual Outfest Legacy Awards.
“I feel like I’m at my church tonight,” Monáe instructed the viewers in her acceptance speech, taking the stage in an all-leather outfit with a tipped black hat. “I feel like I am in church and I am with people that feel me and see me and understand me… I’m just deeply humbled and just so thankful and at a loss for real words to match my feelings. So just accept my thank you. Thank you so much.”
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Outfest is an annual celebration catered to the LGBTQ neighborhood within the movie and tv business, which options reside performances from musical company, particular appearances from esteemed creators and recognition for influential changemakers in Hollywood.
Simultaneous to pursuing a music profession, Monáe is about to star in Netflix’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” the sequel to 2019’s “Knives Out” from director Rian Johnson. Johnson welcomed Monáe on stage to simply accept the award at the Oct. 22 ceremony, prefacing with sort phrases concerning the recording artist’s exceptional accomplishments.
“It’s not shocking to me that she’s getting this award, because you know, if I open up the dictionary in my brain and look up the word ‘trailblazer,’ it’s just like a whole single-page spread of Janelle’s face,” Johnson mentioned. “She’s a beacon of living free and out loud and what that looks like and she wants that for other people too. She walks the walk.”
Presented by IMDb and Genesis, the occasion passed off at Paramount Studios.
Glamazon, a volunteer-based community of various Amazon workers and allies, was additionally awarded the Guardian Award, and Outfest’s deputy director, Kerri Stoughton-Jackson, was honored with the Jonathan Howard Award.
“Visibility is important for the next generation to see; like, ‘I have community, I have people putting in real effort to make sure that I’m seen, that I’m heard, that I’m present,’” Monáe mirrored on the carpet, chatting with the activism of the evening’s honorees and Outfest as a corporation. “I think that we obviously have a lot of work to continue to do, but the work they’ve done over the last 40 years, that’s a big deal.”
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