Rapper Jay-Z will receive a special award from LGBT media charity GLAAD.
Beyoncé’s husband was announced today as a recipient of a GLAAD Award for dealing with LGBT issues on his latest album.
Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, dedicated a track on album 4:44 to his mother, Gloria Carter – which also served as her official coming out.
In the track, titled Smile, Jay-Z raps while his mother reads a poem about hiding her sexuality for years.
He raps: “Mama had four kids, but she’s a lesbian/Had to pretend so long that she’s a thespian.
“Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate/Society shame and the pain was too much to take.”
It was announced today that GLAAD would present “a Special Recognition Award for Jay-Z’s song and music video ‘Smile’ featuring his mother Gloria” at the upcoming GLAAD awards.
The GLAAD Media Awards honour media for their fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of the LGBTQ community and the issues that affect their lives.
GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said: “What people see in the media has a powerful impact on how they treat others and the GLAAD Media Awards raise the bar for media to tell LGBTQ stories that accelerate acceptance.
“At a time when anti-LGBTQ policies and harassment are on the rise, it is imperative that Hollywood and news media tell more LGBTQ stories that reflect the community’s rich diversity – and build understanding that brings all communities closer together.
“This year’s nominees showcase stories that span races, genres, ages, and geographies, challenge misconceptions, and broaden understanding and acceptance of LGBTQ people across the globe.”
Gloria Carter recently opened up about coming out to her son and the process of making the song.
She said: “The song came about because I was sitting there one day, and I just finally started telling [my son] who I was; Besides your mother, this is the person that I am. This is the life that I’ve lived.
“My son started actually tearing. He’s like, ‘that had to be a horrible life, ma’.
“I said, ‘my life was never horrible. It was just different.’
“That made him want to do a song about it, and the first time I heard the song, I was like, ‘no dude, I a’int feeling that. I was sharing myself with you, not with the world, I don’t know whether I’m ready for that’.
“We talked about it and we talked about it, and I was going out to see him, and I said, I’m going to help him. We’re gonna do this. I wrote [my verse] while I was on the plane, going out to LA.
“I gave it to him, and he said ‘start reading this’, and he was taping me!”
“We talked back and forth about it, but in reality, the reason I call it living in the shadows is people see me as I want them to see me. I was never ashamed of me.
“In my family, it was something that was never discussed.”
Carter added that she decided to come out after gossip sites began speculating about her personal life, as it impacted people she was seen in public with.
She said: “It wasn’t fair to them. It’s not fair for anyone to know my personal business. Who I share my life with is no-one’s business.”
“I thought, I’m tired of all the mystery. I’m gonna give it to ‘em. I don’t have to worry about anybody wondering if I’m in the life or not, I’m going to tell them!
“Now that I told you, what do you have to talk about? Nothing!
“Now maybe you can focus on the phenomenal things I do, focus on that!
“It’s a small part of your life. Heterosexuals don’t have to walk around talking about their personal life, so why should someone who’s in the life have to do that? It’s not fair.
“I’m a O.G. Now it’s time for me to live my life and be happy, be free.”
The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies will be held in Los Angeles on April 12, 2018 at The Beverly Hilton, and in New York on May 5 at the New York Hilton Midtown.
For the first time this year, GLAAD will honor LGBTQ-inclusive content in Kids & Family Programming. The inaugural round of nominees includes Disney Channel’s Andi Mack and Doc McStuffins for its “The Emergency Plan” episode, Amazon’s Danger & Eggs for its “Chosen Family” episode, Nickelodeon’s The Loud House, and Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe.
Check out all the nominees below:
OUTSTANDING FILM – WIDE RELEASE
Battle of the Sexes (Fox Searchlight)
Call Me by Your Name (Sony Pictures Classics)
Lady Bird (A24)
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (Annapurna Pictures)
The Shape of Water (Fox Searchlight)
OUTSTANDING FILM – LIMITED RELEASE
BPM (The Orchard)
A Fantastic Woman (Sony Pictures Classics)
God’s Own Country (Samuel Goldwyn Films/Orion Pictures)
Thelma (The Orchard)
The Wound (Kino Lorber)
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
The Bold Type (Freeform)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (The CW)
Modern Family (ABC)
One Day at a Time (Netflix)
One Mississippi (Amazon)
Superstore (NBC)
Survivor’s Remorse (Starz)
Transparent (Amazon)
Will & Grace (NBC)
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Billions (Showtime)
Doubt (CBS)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Nashville (CMT)
Sense8 (Netflix)
Shadowhunters (Freeform)
Star (FOX)
Star Trek: Discovery (CBS All Access)
This Is Us (NBC)
Wynonna Earp (Syfy)
OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL EPISODE (in a series without a regular LGBTQ character)
“Chapter 8” Legion (FX)
“Grace” Pure Genius (CBS)
“Lady Cha Cha” Easy (Netflix)
“The Missionaries” Room 104 (HBO)
“Thanksgiving” Master of None (Netflix)
OUTSTANDING TV MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
American Horror Story: Cult (FX)
Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Godless (Netflix)
Queers (BBC America)
When We Rise (ABC)
OUTSTANDING KIDS & FAMILY PROGRAMMING
Andi Mack (Disney Channel)
“Chosen Family” Danger & Eggs (Amazon)
“The Emergency Plan” Doc McStuffins (Disney Channel)
The Loud House (Nickelodeon)
Steven Universe (Cartoon Network)
OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY
Chavela (Music Box Films)
Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric (National Geographic)
Kiki (Sundance Selects)
“Real Boy” Independent Lens (PBS)
This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous (YouTube Red)
OUTSTANDING REALITY PROGRAM
Gaycation with Ellen Page (Viceland)
I Am Jazz (TLC)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Survivor: Game Changers (CBS)
The Voice (NBC)
OUTSTANDING MUSIC ARTIST
Miley Cyrus, Younger Now (RCA Records)
Halsey, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom (Astralwerks Records)
Honey Dijon, The Best of Both Worlds (Classic Music Company)
Kehlani, SweetSexySavage (TSNMI/Atlantic Records)
Kelela, Take Me Apart (Warp Records)
Kesha, Rainbow (Kemosabe/RCA Records)
Perfume Genius, No Shape (Matador Records)
Sam Smith, The Thrill of It All (Capitol Records)
St. Vincent, MASSEDUCTION (Loma Vista Recordings)
Wrabel, We Could Be Beautiful (Epic/Sony Records)
OUTSTANDING COMIC BOOK
America, written by Gabby Rivera (Marvel Comics)
The Backstagers, written by James Tynion IV (BOOM! Studios)
Batwoman, written by Marguerite Bennett, James Tynion IV (DC Comics)
Black Panther: World of Wakanda, written by Roxane Gay, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Yona Harvey, Rembert Browne (Marvel Comics)
Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love, written by Sarah Vaughn (DC Comics)
Goldie Vance, written by Hope Larson, Jackie Ball (BOOM! Studios)
Iceman, written by Sina Grace (Marvel Comics)
Lumberjanes, written by Kat Leyh, Shannon Watters (BOOM! Studios)
Quantum Teens are Go, written by Magdalene Visaggio (Black Mask Comics)
The Woods, written by James Tynion IV (BOOM! Studios)
OUTSTANDING DAILY DRAMA
The Bold and The Beautiful (CBS)
Days of Our Lives (NBC)
The Young & the Restless (CBS)
OUTSTANDING TALK SHOW EPISODE
“Australia Marriage Equality” Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
“Danica Roem” The Opposition with Jordan Klepper (Comedy Central)
“Laila and Logan Ireland, Transgender Military Couple” The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated)
“Laverne Cox and Gavin Grimm” The View (ABC)
“Trans Veterans React to Ban” The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
OUTSTANDING TV JOURNALISM – NEWSMAGAZINE
“A Boy Named Lucas” 20/20 (ABC)
“China Queer” The Naked Truth (Fusion)
“Gay Purge?” Nightline (ABC)
“The Pulse of Orlando: Terror at the Nightclub” Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN)
“Trans Youth” VICE on HBO (HBO)
OUTSTANDING TV JOURNALISM SEGMENT
“The Abolitionists Face the Love Army” KAPP-KVEW Local News (KAPP-35/KVEW-42 [Tri Cities/Yakima, Wash.])
“DJ Zeke Thomas Goes Public” Good Morning America (ABC)
“Murders Raise Alarm for Transgender Community” NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (NBC)
“Transgender Murders in Louisiana Part of Disturbing Trend” CBS Evening News (CBS)
“Transgender Rights under Fire in Trump Era” AM Joy (MSNBC)
OUTSTANDING NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
“Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: The Journey of a Transgender Man” by Lauren McGaughy (The Dallas Morning News)
“Lesbian College Coaches Still Face Difficult Atmosphere to Come Out” by Shannon Ryan (Chicago Tribune)
“Pulse Victims’ Families in Puerto Rico: ‘We Have to Cry Alone’” by Jennifer A. Marcial Ocasio (Orlando Sentinel)
“Revised Guidance on HIV Proves Life-Transforming” by Lenny Bernstein (The Washington Post)
“The Silent Epidemic: Black Gay Men and HIV” [series] (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
OUTSTANDING MAGAZINE ARTICLE
“America’s Hidden H.I.V. Epidemic” by Linda Villarosa (The New York Times Magazine)
“Beyond ‘He’ or ‘She’: The Changing Meaning of Gender and Sexuality” by Katy Steinmetz (Time)
“Forbidden Lives: The Gay Men Who Fled Chechnya’s Purge” by Masha Gessen (The New Yorker)
“Free Radical” by Nathan Heller (Vogue)
“Trans, Teen, and Homeless” by Laura Rena Murray (Rolling Stone)
OUTSTANDING MAGAZINE OVERALL COVERAGE
The Advocate
Billboard
People
Teen Vogue
Time
OUTSTANDING DIGITAL JOURNALISM ARTICLE
“The Ballad of Bobby Brooks, the First Gay Student-Body President of Texas A&M” by Lauren Larson (GQ.com)
“For Those We Lost and Those Who Survived: The Pulse Massacre One Year Later” by James Michael Nichols (HuffPost Queer Voices)
“‘I Am a Girl Now,’ Sage Smith Wrote. Then She Went Missing.” by Emma Eisenberg (Splinter)
“Meet the Transgender Student Who Fought Discrimination at His Maryland High School (and Won)” by Nico Lang (INTO)
“Why Bisexual Men Are Still Fighting to Convince Us They Exist” by Samantha Allen (Splinter)
OUTSTANDING DIGITAL JOURNALISM – MULTIMEDIA
“Former Patriots and Chiefs Tackle Ryan O’Callaghan Comes Out as Gay” by Cyd Zeigler (Outsports/SB Nation)
“Made to Model: Trans Beauty in Fashion” (LogoTV.com)
“‘This Is How We Win’: Inside Danica Roem’s Historic Victory” by Diana Tourjée (Broadly.Vice.com)
“Transgender Day of Remembrance” by Saeed Jones (AM to DM, BuzzFeed News)
“US Travel Ban Leaves LGBT Refugees in Limbo” by Nina dos Santos (CNN.com)
OUTSTANDING BLOG
Autostraddle
Gays With Kids
My Fabulous Disease
Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents
Transgriot
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
In a Heartbeat (written & directed by Esteban Bravo and Beth David)
“Smile” by Jay-Z featuring Gloria Carter, 4:44 (Roc Nation/Universal Music Group)
29TH ANNUAL GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS
SPANISH-LANGUAGE NOMINEES
OUTSTANDING SCRIPTED TELEVISION SERIES
Las chicas del cable (Netflix)
La doble vida de Estela Carrillo (Univision)
Ingobernable (Netflix)
OUTSTANDING TV JOURNALISM – NEWSMAGAZINE
“Así viven los estudiantes transgénero después de que Trump anulara la ley de baños de Obama para escuela públicas” Primer Impacto (Univision)
“Pulse, huellas de la masacre” Docufilms (CNN en Español)
“Ser transgénero en Latinoamérica: sus experiencias y crecimiento” Vive la Salud (CNN en Español)
OUTSTANDING TV JOURNALISM SEGMENT
“Comunidad LGBTQ vulnerable bajo nuevo gobierno” Perspectiva Nacional (Entravision)
“Entrevista con Daniela Vega” Showbiz (CNN en Español)
“Joven transgénero tiene un mensaje para las familias: ‘Acepten a sus hijos’” Al Punto (Univision)
“El triunfo de una diseñadora mexicana transgénero en Nueva York” Noticias Telemundo (Telemundo)
“Unidos contra la discriminación y el acoso contra la comunidad LGBT” Despierta América (Univision)
OUTSTANDING DIGITAL JOURNALISM
“La compleja realidad de ser gay en América Latina” (cnnespanol.cnn.com)
“‘No aprobar el Dream Act significaría una sentencia de muerte’, jóvenes LGBT y DACA” (laopinion.com)
“Padres de familia de Dallas luchan por los derechos de su hija transgénero” (aldiadallas.com)
“Primera senadora trans aspira a impulsar medidas para sectores discriminados” (efe.com)
“Tres hermanitos para dos papás” (laopinion.com)
