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Joy and visibility take center stage at Critics Choice LGBTQ+ Cinema & TV celebration
Joy, pride and community were just some of the words that honorees of the Critics Choice Association's second annual Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema and Television called out at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles over the weekend.
Actress and comedian Sherry Cola, who hosted the ceremony for the second time, told Gold Derby she was 'thrilled to be here.'
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'This is a celebration of all of our victories this year and also a reminder of our resilience,' the Joy Ride star said. 'As a community, just making sure queerness is still on the screen at all times.'
The event welcomed a variety of film and television stars who spanned multiple generations.
Taking home the Career Achievement Award was film, TV and stand-up star Wanda Sykes, who told Gold Derby she was thrilled to see how LGBTQ+ visibility has grown in Hollywood.
'The number of people who are here tonight being honored, that just shows tremendous growth in our industry,' she said. 'This is just a beautiful thing to have, especially for Pride Month. So very excited to be here.'
Shrinking star Michael Urie, who was honored with the Trailblazer Award, joked that the word 'trailblazer' made him 'feel a little bit old' but admitted he also gets it.
'When I was first on TV and when I came out, there weren't a lot of gay characters on TV and there weren't a lot of out gay actors, and there's a lot more now,' he said. 'So many that we can fill a whole night celebrating them. So I'm really proud.'
'There are still so many kids out there who are growing up in a family where they're the only one like them. They're the only queer person in their family,' Urie said. 'Television can still show, 'Hey, look, you'll find a chosen family out there.' In Shrinking, even though the show is mostly straight people, it is a show about chosen family. And that is something that is so important to the queer community.'
Wanda Sykes
Sasheer Zamata, who starred as queer witch Jennifer Kale on Disney+ series Agatha All Along and took home the Breakthrough Performance Award, said she was thrilled to play a superhero character who was also part of the LGBTQ+ community.
'I'm a superhero nerd myself, and so being able to provide a character and portray a character that is queer — and is also a layered character at that — feels really, really cool,' Zamata said. 'I am so thankful that there are so many people who can relate to these characters and relate to the story, and I just want to be able to tell more stories like that.'
For Severance star Tramell Tillman, who was honored with the Supporting Performance Award, Drama Series, he told Gold Derby that he's been dreaming about these moments since childhood.
'I remember being 10 years old and making the decision that I wanted to be an actor and practicing my Oscar speech and my Emmy speech,' he said. 'And so the young Tramell is really, really excited.'
He added that representing as an LGBTQ+ actor was an opportunity that he didn't want 'to squander or take for granted.'
'It's my hope that I'm giving justice to the community and representing well,' he said.
Another first-time honoree, Rising Star Award winner Benito Skinner, who created and stars in Overcompensating, told Gold Derby that the awards attention 'feels very surreal' especially because he sat with the project for about five years.
'I've been at places and people will bring up the characters to me or something and I'm like, 'Oh f--k, it's out.' I keep forgetting,' he said. 'I feel so lucky and I'm just glad that people, I think, are excited about the show and are loving it and laughing and crying.'
With his Prime Video series taking place in college, Skinner's advice for young people is that coming out should happen on their own timeline.
'I think that I judged myself for so long after I came out because I was like, 'Oh, I should have done it 20 years ago.' Like I missed out on so much of my life,' he said. 'But I think we all have our reasons, and take your time and find places where you feel safe. Find your community, and I think you'll find people that will allow you to feel comfortable to come out when it's the right time for you.'
Yellowjackets star Liv Hewson said being honored by the LBGTQ+ community also felt 'surreal' but that they are 'grateful.'
Having previously spoken out about gendered awards as a nonbinary actor, the other Rising Star Award recipient told Gold Derby that 'it's not lost on me that this is a position that I might not get many opportunities to be in at the moment. So I plan to make the most of it.'
Comic icon Bruce Vilanch told Gold Derby he couldn't be happier to see the LGBTQ+ community growing.
'I think it's great that there's so much visibility,' he said, 'because I think that is how LGBT, WTF, LOL people get the rights that they deserve to get under the American system — by being visible.'
Here's the complete list of Critics Choice Association Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema and Television Award recipients:
Career Achievement Award: Wanda Sykes Groundbreaker Award: Niecy Nash-Betts (Grotesquerie) Trailblazer Award: Michael Urie (Shrinking) Industry Leadership Award: Howard Cohen and Eric d'Arbeloff, co-presidents of Roadside Attractions Comedy Award: Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) Vanguard Award: Nathan Lee Graham (Mid-Century Modern) Documentary Award: Harper Steele and Will Ferrell, along with director Josh Greenbaum (Will & Harper) Reality TV Award: The season 17 cast of RuPaul's Drag Race Ensemble Award: Bridget Everett, Jeff Hiller, Murray Hill, Mary Catherine Garrison & Tim Bagley (Somebody Somewhere) — Supporting Performance Award, Drama Series: Tramell Tillman (Severance) Supporting Performance Award, Comedy Series: Gideon Glick (Étoile) Breakthrough Performance Award: Megan Stalter (Hacks) Breakthrough Performance Award: Benito Skinner (Overcompensating) Rising Star Award: Sasheer Zamata (Agatha All Along) Rising Star Award: Liv Hewson (Yellowjackets)
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