NEW YORK, N.Y. – Logo today announced that legend of stage and screen Harvey Fierstein and seminal LBGT news outlet The Advocate will be honored during the third annual “Trailblazer Honors,” a television special that celebrates pioneers at the forefront of LGBT equality. For the first time, VH1 and Logo will simulcast the “Trailblazer Honors,” the largest televised LGBT Pride event, on Saturday, June 25 at 8pm ET/7pm CT. The one-hour special is an official event of NYC Pride Week and will be held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, one of the first religious institutions in New York City to champion the causes of LGBT people. Fierstein and The Advocate join previous years’ honorees including the Obama Administration, Edie Windsor, Judy and Dennis Shepard, as well as Laverne Cox and the cast of “Orange is the New Black.”
During the event, Judith Light, Matthew Broderick, Bernadette Peters, Billy Porter, Edie Falco, Joel Grey, Matthew Morrison, Michael Musto and Tony Kushner, among others will share personal accounts of working with Fierstein as well as his legacy. Troye Sivan, Cheyenne Jackson, Tegan & Sara, Jason Collins, Alex Newell, and former Editors-In-Chief will speak to The Advocate’s nearly 50 year history of groundbreaking journalism that not only inspired community members, but became a platform for celebrities, politicians and athletes to speak out in favor of LGBT people.
“In prep for this lovely honor, Logo sent me a bio they’d put together of my accomplishments. YIKES! It looks like I’ve done a lot but, truthfully, none of it was done alone,” said Fierstein. “There’s been an unseen army of contemporaries and pioneers who’ve come before me that has made everything I’ve achieved possible. I hope, by accepting this honor from Logo, that I am helping to celebrate our entire community of LGBT warriors.”
As a playwright, writer and actor, Harvey Fierstein is a pioneer who introduced LGBT characters and stories that knocked down barriers on Broadway and in Hollywood, and also opened the hearts and minds of millions. In 1982, Fierstein wrote and starred in “Torch Song Trilogy,” for which he won his first two of four Tony Awards. After breaking new ground on Broadway, “Torch Song Trilogy” became one of the first feature films to feature an openly gay lead character played by an openly gay actor. Fierstein continued to introduce audiences to diverse LGBT people and reinforce a central theme of self-expression with his legendary Broadway hits “La Cage aux Folles,” “Kinky Boots,” and “Casa Valentina.” Fierstein is also beloved for his unforgettable acting roles in films including “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Independence Day,” as well as television appearances on shows including “Nurse Jackie.” Fierstein will next reprise his iconic role of Edna Turnblad in NBC’s upcoming television special “Hairspray Live!”
In addition to his work as an actor and writer, Fierstein has been an outspoken and fearless advocate for LGBT issues since the 1980s. His leadership in calling for an end to HIV and AIDS has lasted for decades and included speeches at LGBT Pride Marches, columns in The New York Times, and a historic lighting ceremony at the Empire State Building, where he lit the landmark red in recognition of the 30th anniversary of AIDS Walk New York. A ubiquitous celebrity spokesperson for LGBT equality, he has participated in multiple marriage equality campaigns and was a vocal critic of anti-LGBT laws in Russia, penning an often cited column for The New York Times during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Just last week, Harvey and his “Kinky Boots” co-writer Cyndi Lauper rewrote the lyrics to the show’s finale song “Just Be” to speak out against anti-LGBT laws in North Carolina and other states. The video for the revised song, “Just Pee,” has been viewed over 8.5M times and has almost 200K shares.
“We are so excited to accept this award for The Advocate’s five decades of journalism on behalf of the LGBT community,” says Matthew Breen, editor-in-chief of The Advocate. “It is a profound responsibility to chronicle our triumphs and tragedies, victories and defeats. And we strive to do it with the integrity shown to us by previous generations of brave editors, reporters, photographers, and publishers, who proved to the world that our stories must be told.”
The Advocate is a trailblazing publication that was created in 1967 following America’s first known riot in protest of LGBT harassment at the Black Cat Tavern in Los Angeles. That year, two and a half years before Stonewall, The Advocate began as a newsletter to inform LGBT citizens of their rights in case of arrest. For the past 49 years, The Advocate has become the LGBT periodical of record – pioneering LGBT journalism with articles written by seasoned LGBT journalists devoted to reporting on issues from a LGBT perspective. During the AIDS epidemic editors worked tirelessly to convince gay and straight celebrities to use the magazine as a vehicle to comfort a readership that one former Editor-In-Chief says was, ‘choking on the self-hate most straight institutions were spewing at them about AIDS.’ In the early 90s and 2000s – The Advocate was an unwavering platform of LGBT visibility – helping k.d. lang, George Michael, Chaz Bono and Melissa Etheridge come out, while giving icons like Ellen DeGeneres and allies like Hillary Clinton and President Obama an open forum to speak out. Well before every single LGBT social and civil rights victory was fought in the mainstream, it was featured – in depth – within the trailblazing pages of The Advocate.
Additional honorees, performers and presenters will be announced at a later date.
