Britney Spears has long been a vocal supporter of the gay community, using her platform as a world-dominating pop star to spread messages of tolerance, acceptance, and love during her long and prosperous career. She shared a similar message at last night’s GLAAD Media Awards Los Angeles ceremony when she accepted this year’s Vanguard Award, an honor bestowed upon people who have promoted acceptance of and equal rights for the gay community.
Ricky Martin introduced Spears, and after discussing his journey with coming out, Martin praised the honoree for using her platform to spread tolerance:
“Our ally, Britney Spears — she fights for acceptance in her own way. Britney is a multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning pop icon. It’s incredible. She could be one of those stars with a huge LGBTQ following who says nothing and does nothing, but instead, she uses her platform to remind audiences around the globe that intolerance is unacceptable.”
Award in hand, Spears addressed the audience with a speech about unconditional acceptance and love, saying:
“I feel like our society has put such an emphasis on what’s ‘normal,’ and to be different is unusual or seen as strange. But to be accepted unconditionally and to be able to express yourself as an individual through art is such a blessing. Events like this, the one we are attending here tonight, show the world that we are not alone. We can all join hands together here and know that we are all beautiful and we can lift each other up and show our gifts without hesitation. Being a mother has shown me what it means to love unconditionally, and you all in this room have shown me throughout my career what it means to be loved unconditionally. It’s such an honor to be here. Thank you so much, GLAAD, and thank you to the LGBTQ community. And to my family and all of my friends and fans, I love you very much.”
Watch Spears’ speech above.
