GLAAD CEO makes ‘urgent’ call for trans stories to be told during Emmys speech

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis made an “urgent” plea to the television world to tell more trans stories, while accepting 2023 Governor’s Award.

It was announced back in November that the non-profit LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation would be this year’s recipient of the coveted Governors Award at the 75th annual Emmy Awards.

That moment came on Monday night (15 January) when presenters Hannah Waddingham and Colman Domingo presented Sarah Kate Ellis with the award in honour of GLAAD’s work to secure fair, accurate, diverse representation in the media that will help to advance LGBTQ+ acceptance.

Accepting the award on behalf of the organisation, Sarah Kate Ellis urged the room full of actors, writers, directors, and executives to put more effort into telling trans stories.

She told the crowd: “For all of us at GLAAD, this work is personal, for me, it’s about my wife and our kids, because what the world sees on TV directly influences how we treat each other and the decisions we make in our living rooms, schools, at work, and at the ballot box.

“The world urgently needs culture-changing stories about transgender people. More people say they have seen a ghost than know a trans person.”

She continued: “When you don’t know people, it’s easy to demonize them. Visibility creates understanding and opens doors, it’s life-saving. 

“Our community has achieved so much and yet, we are still being victimized and villainized with cruel and harmful lies. Sharing stories is the antidote.

“And now is the time to take action – to support everyone in the LGBTQ+ community, because this story is still being told and we all can be the heroes.”

The Governor’s Award is an honour bestowed on an individual or organisation chosen by the Telvision Academy’s Board of Governors that has made a profond contribution to the art and/or science of television.

Previous recipients include Comic Relief, American Idol, National Geographic’s Planet Earth, Tyler Perry, Debbie Allen, and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.

GLAAD was in good company at this year’s Emmy Awards.

LGBTQ+ winners from across the night included Niecy Nash, Ayo Edebiri, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and Elton John.

GLAAD is set to host its own ceremony this awards season with the 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards on 14 March in Los Angeles and on 11 May in New York.

The event aims to celebrate the representation and inclusion of LGBTQ+ people within all forms of media.

Last year’s award recipients included films like Fire Island and Bros, TV series like The White Lotus and A League Of Their Own, and musicians like Dove Cameron and Fletcher.