Kacey Musgraves To Receive GLAAD’s Vanguard Award For LGBTQ Advocacy

Grammy Award-winning music superstar, Kacey Musgraves will be presented with the Vanguard Award during this year’s GLAAD Media Awards on April 2 for her public work as an LGBTQ ally.

Each year, the award is given to "allies who have made a significant difference in promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people," according to GLAAD. Previous honourees include Beyoncé and JAY-Z, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Cher, Janet Jackson, and Taylor Swift.

Musgraves has used her platform to loudly speak out in support of the LGBTQ community and advance conversations about LGBTQ acceptance in country music. Most recently, Musgraves joined GLAAD and Equality Texas to raise awareness around anti-LGBTQ bills proposed in the Texas state legislature.

In 2013, Musgraves recorded and co-wrote the single Follow Your Arrow, which features the lyrics “make lots of noise, kiss lots of boys, or kiss lots of girls if that’s what you’re into … just follow your arrow wherever it points.” Follow Your Arrow has since been widely recognized as a LGBTQ anthem. Musgraves performed the song at the 25th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York in 2014, becoming the first ever country artist to perform at the ceremony.  

On her outstanding legacy as an ally, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said, “From speaking out against anti-LGBTQ legislation in her home state of Texas, to raising awareness about bullying affecting LGBTQ youth, to uplifting the work of LGBTQ artists, Kacey continues to raise the bar for what it means to be an authentic ally and to inspire her fans to do the same."

Since then, Musgraves has continued to advocate for the LGBTQ community through her music. Her music video for Rainbow, a song off her 2018 Grammy-award winning album Golden Hour, featured a visibly queer young man enduring parental conflict at home due to his sexuality. 

Throughout her career, Musgraves has collaborated with multiple LGBTQ artists, most notably Troye Sivan, with whom she has released two tracks, Glittery and Easy, and MUNA and King Princess, who joined Musgraves for her 2022 star-crossed: unveiled tour. 

star-crossed: the film, which she released in conjunction with the 2021 album, features multiple LGBTQ artists and iconography, including RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Symone, Hacks comedian Meg Stalter and music artist Princess Nokia.

The 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards will take place in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, April 2, 2022.

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Keep up to date with Kacey Musgraves on her Facebook page here.