Janelle Monáe will be honored with the Trailblazer Award at the 2022 Outfest Legacy Awards Gala taking place at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 22. The award will recognize Monáe’s role as an artist who has consistently shown support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Past recipients at the Outfest Awards include Billy Porter, Laverne Cox, Octavia Spencer and Lee Daniels.
“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,” Outfest Executive Director Damien S. Navarro said. “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.”
In 2018, Monáe opened up to Rolling Stone about her exploration of pansexuality. She later shared with the hosts of Red Table Talk — and the world — that she identifies as non-binary.
“I just don’t see myself as a woman solely. I feel all of my energy. I feel like God is so much bigger than the ‘he’ or the ‘she,'” she said. “And if I am from God, I am everything. But I will always, always stand with women. I will always stand with Black women. But I just see everything that I am, beyond the binary.”
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