Ryan Murphy will be honored at the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards March 19 at the Hilton Midtown. The Tony- and Emmy-winning screenwriter, producer, and director will be presented with the Vito Russo Award at the annual ceremony, which honors media for fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of LGBTQ+ people and issues.
Actors Sarah Paulson and Matt Bomer will present Murphy with his award.
The Vito Russo Award is presented to an openly LGBTQ+ media professional who has made a difference in accelerating queer acceptance. The award is named for Vito Russo, a founder of GLAAD and celebrated ACT UP activist who pushed open the door for news and entertainment industries to include LGBTQ+ performers and stories.
Previous honorees include Billy Porter, Anderson Cooper, Ricky Martin, Andy Cohen, Cynthia Nixon, RuPaul, Rosie O’Donnell, Tom Ford, Samira Wiley, Thomas Roberts, George Takei, Alan Cumming, Craig Zadan, and Neil Meron.
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“Ryan Murphy is a talented trailblazer behind some of the most innovative and popular LGBTQ projects in television, theatre, and film history, and he continues to bring underrepresented LGBTQ voices to the table in ways that raise the bar in Hollywood,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis in a statement. “Ryan’s unique and gifted brand of storytelling has not only entertained the masses, but provided LGBTQ youth with characters who inspire them to live boldly and proudly.”
This year, Murphy is nominated for GLAAD Media Awards in Outstanding Comedy Series for The Politician and in Outstanding Drama Series for Pose. On stage, he recently produced the Tony-winning revival of The Boys in the Band. He also directed the HBO movie The Normal Heart, which received Emmy and Golden Globe awards, including the Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie. Next, Murphy will direct the movie adaption of the Broadway musical The Prom, the story of a gay high school teenager who stands up against anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in her small town.
Taylor Swift, recently seen in Cats, will receive the Vanguard Award and Janet Mock will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award at the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on April 16.
