Live from the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, GLAAD announces the nominees for its annual media awards. The ceremonies will be held in April and in May.
Pop superstars Miley Cyrus, Sam Smith, Kesha, and Halsey led this year's batch of nominees. The organization will also be giving Jay-Z special recognition for the song "Smile," a single his mother, Gloria Carter, used to come out as a lesbian.
GLAAD named a total of 125 nominees divided into multiple categories that include all forms of media namely music, television, print, and the big screen. For the first time, this year, the organization recognized inclusive content in Kids & Family Programming. More special honorees will be announced in the coming weeks.
"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," stated GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.
"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."
Nominees
In the music category, 10 artists hailing from different genres will compete. Cyrus, who released her new album, Younger Now, last year leads the list of nominees. Electropop darling Halsey also made it to the list thanks to her second studio album Hopeless Fountain Kingdom. Kesha's comeback album, Rainbow, was also recognized by the organization.
The rest of the nominated artists are Honey Dijon (The Best of Both Worlds), Kehlani (SweetSexyRevenge), Kelela (Take Me Apart), Perfume Genius (No Shape), St. Vincent (MASSEDUCTION), and Wrabel (We Could Be Beautiful).
Meanwhile, Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird will battle Sony Pictures' Call Me By Your Name, a romantic drama about two men set in Northern Italy in 1983, in the Outstanding Film - Wide Release category. The rest of the nominees are Battle of the Sexes, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, and The Shape of Water.
From television, 35 programs across five categories were named. Musical romantic-comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series together with ABC's Modern Family, NBC's Will & Grace, Amazon's Transparent, and FOX's Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
In the Outstanding Drama Series category, NBC's family drama This Is Us will be competing against dystopian series The Handmaid's Tale. Netflix's now-canceled fantasy series Sense8, CMT's Nashville, Freeform's Shadowhunters, Syfy's Wynonna Earp, and CBS' Star Trek: Discovery are also in the running.
Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story: Cult and Feud: Bette and Joan on FX are both nominated for Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series. The complete list of the nominees is available on the GLAAD website.
The 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards will take place on April 12 in Los Angeles and May 5 in New York.
