Janelle Monáe to Receive 2022 Outfest Trailblazer Award

Janelle Monae will receive the Trailblazer Award at the 2022 Outfest Legacy Awards ceremony!

Taking place in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 22, the Legacy Awards continues Outfest's 40th-anniversary celebration that has been ongoing throughout 2022.

The singer and actress, who is currently set to appear on Netflix's upcoming Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, has been a major LGBTQ+ powerhouse in Hollywood for many years, so it's only fitting that she was chosen to receive such recognition.

"In honoring Janelle Monae, the Trailblazer Award will recognize Monae's role as an artist who has consistently shown their support for the LGBTQ+ community at large through music and acting," a release from the organizers reads.

Outfest's executive director Damien S. Navarro said in a statement:

"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. 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."

Past trailblazers who were recipients of awards at Outfest include Tom Hanks, Billy Porter, Laverne Cox, Elliot Page, Lee Daniels, Michaela Jae Rodriguez, Rita Moreno, Judith Light, Hillary Swank, Tanya Saracho, and Octavia Spencer, among others.

Also being honored at the event, which is taking place at Paramount Studios, are Glamazon (Amazon's diversity & inclusion network for LGBTQIA+ employees), who will be receiving the Guardian Award, and Outfest's deputy director Kerri Stoughton-Jackson, who will be receiving the Jonathan Howard Legacy Award.

For more information on Outfest's upcoming Legacy Awards Gala, make sure to visit their official website, outfest.org.

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