20 Celebs Who Have Given Support And Love To The LGBTQ+ Community
A salute to stars who speak up for human rights.
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While the LGBTQ community is under legislative attack, several celebrities have supported queer communities for years. With this being Pride Month, we look back at big names who unapologetically advocated for those who are out and proud. From Jay Z to Tank, the list of allies is diverse.
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Kerry Washington has been a vocal advocate for diversity in all forms. In 2015, she received an award from the GLAAD Media Awards and said, "When black people today tell me that they don't believe in gay marriage… the first thing that I say is, 'Please don't let anybody try to get you to vote against your own best interest by feeding you messages of hate.' Then I say 'you know people used to say stuff like that about you and your love." (Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
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Tank received a slew of criticism when he performed at Washington DC Gay Pride in May 2017. The singer took to Instagram and said he regretted nothing from the weekend. He even posted a photo from the event with the caption, "An amazing moment. #DC Pride." (Photo: Earl Gibson III/Getty Images for Centric)
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Rihanna has a pretty sizeable queer fan base, so when she took the time to help one of her gay fans come out, it was a pretty big deal. In April 2016, Rih had a viral DM exchange with a Black male fan, slowly helping him come out to his friends and family. "Baby, it's okay to be scared but it's more important to be who you are," she wrote to him. (Photographer Group / Splash News)
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Jay Z supported same-sex marriage in 2014, saying, "It's no different than discrimination against Black." He has also talked openly about his mother being a lesbian and wrote a song for her in 2017 titled "Smile." (Photo: Ari Perilstein/Getty Images for Roc Nation)
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Queen Latifah has always been supportive of the LGBT community. The groundbreaking rapper encouraged fans to "conquer hate with love" during a performance at a gay pride event in Long Beach in 2012. And, of course, she broke barriers when she played a lesbian in 1997's Set It Off. Also proving that she is a significant community ally, the actress officiated 33 marriages live on air during the 2014 Grammy Awards. (Photo: Donna Ward/WireImage)
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Mary J. Blige has a strong gay fan base and told The Advocate magazine in November 2007, "The majority of my fans are gay. The majority of them are, and I have to really make sure that they know I’m paying attention to the fact that they support me, and I support them." (Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Casa Reale)
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In 2001, the Oscar winner told Advocate.com, "Imagine that if in all of the Black churches they started saying, 'Let’s love each other unconditionally. Let’s not judge.' That’s it! You can have members be openly gay! Not, 'Well, we think Troy is gay, but you know! Yes, he switches, but we’re not gonna say nothing!'" During her most recent Netflix comedy special, she also blasted homophobia in the Black church and revealed she was bisexual. (Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
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Eve - When asked if the rapper was comfortable with her gay following she said, "First of all, the gays, when they love you, they love you. They are very loyal. I have a huge gay men fan base — I love them." (Photo: Matteo Valle/Getty Images)
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Vanessa Williams has a long history with the LGBT community. In June 2009 she said to Advocate.com, "Every day there is another obstacle that people are confronting — now is the time to have open dialogue. If it's not gay marriage, if it's not gays in the military, there is always something in the forefront and I think that's fantastic. Dialogue with education is how you get power." She is also a judge on Queen of the Universe Queens, which airs on Paramount Plus. (Photo: Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images)
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Beyoncé has a monstrously large LGBTQ following. Renaissance, her most recent album, is dedicated to her Uncle Jonny, her godfather, a proud gay man who lost his life to AIDS. The album is also a celebration of her queer fanbase. (Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
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Janet is what you call a "gay icon." In 2008, she said, "I’ve always loved the gay community, and I think they know that. I’m always involved in projects concerning AIDS, and I’ve just always tried to make myself available. We all have a job in this world, and I think that my job that God has given me is to help people." (Photo: Christopher Polk/BET/Getty Images for BET)
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Patti LaBelle has love for everyone and said in 2007 to Advocate.com, "I'm very honest with gay people. I’m very honest with calling you out and saying come up to the front of the stage and let the audience know that you're gay. You’re breathing and you're just like them. The only thing that you have is a different sexual orientation." (Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Capitol Concerts)
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In 2008, Brandy talked the loyalty of her gay fan base, "I think my gay fans are very, very loyal and I really respect them for that. They stick with you through it all. If you are going through an uptime or a downtime, they’re there." (Photo: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
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Tony Award winner and original singer of "And I Am Telling You" Jennifer Holliday once said, "If it were not for the gay and lesbian community, I would really not have half the career I've had. Throughout the lows in my career, this community remained loyal, remained faithful, didn't care whether I had a hit record or not. This community supported me, this community fed me and paid my mortgage by letting me sing in the clubs at three, four o'clock in the morning." (Photo: LHarry Langdon/Getty Images)
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In 2008, Jennifer Hudson told Advocate.com, "To have the gay community as a following and to be accepted, that's how I really started performing, singing and coming into my own because the gay community embraced me first. That's how I got my feet wet so I don't take it lightly at all." (Photo: Maarten de Boer/NBC/NBC via Getty Images)
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In March 2009, supermodel Tyson Beckford talked to BET.com about rumors that he is gay: "It's just one hater that put that on me. But don't get me wrong, I work with GLAAD, I work with Gay Men's Health Crisis — I work with all of that. I love my gay brothers and sisters." (Photo: Denise Truscello/Getty Images for DSQUARED2)
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In 2011, J.Lo spoke to The Advocate on how she would react if one of her children were gay: "I wouldn’t be shocked or anything. Marc even once asked me, 'What if one of the babies is gay?' I said, 'Who cares?' And he was like, 'Yeah, I know. Who cares?' You just love your kids and want them to be happy, because it’s really about love. That’s what this is all about — I sing about it, I do movies about it, and that’s how I live my life." (Photo: John Sciulli/Getty Images for Neiman Marcus)
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In Tyra's 2009 speech at the GLAAD Media Awards, the supermodel said, "I embrace you in front of millions to show how beautiful you are, how absolutely amazing you are, how giving you are. And I will continue to do that as long as I have a platform. I will continue to get the message out about gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people.” (Photo: Art Streiber/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
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Mariah Carey discussed her relationship with the gay community in 2005: "I basically was raised by two gay men, Ernie and Mort, who were best friends. When we didn't have a place to stay, we stayed with them. So I feel like God recognizes us all as human beings and loves us as we are." Just this month, she performed at at LA Pride in the Park. (Photo: Somodevilla/Getty Images)