Australian actor Ruby Rose has received a top honour at the 27th annual Glaad media awards, held on Saturday by the global lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy organisation, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
During a televised ceremony at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, singer Taylor Swift presented Rose with the Stephen F Kolzak award, which recognises an LGBT media professional for promoting “equality and acceptance”.
Swift, a surprise guest of the awards, described Rose as a “force of nature” who “tells the world that no one can judge us and no one can stop us ... She is a woman of many talents. She is my friend.”
Previous recipients of the award include actors Alan Ball, Sir Ian McKellen and Laverne Cox, comedians Ellen DeGeneres and Wanda Sykes, musician Melissa Etheridge and film director Todd Haynes. This year, Haynes’s film Carol won the Glaad award for outstanding film.
Rose was commended for her work playing lesbian inmate Stella Carlin on the Netflix hit show Orange Is the New Black, as well as for her support for marriage equality, youth mental health, women’s rights and animal welfare. As someone who identifies as “lesbian and gender fluid”, she encouraged a wider understanding of gender identities outside the traditional binary, the organisation said.
Glaad president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis also said Rose had captivated audiences around the world, and “through her visibility and outspoken advocacy, Ruby is breaking ground and inspiring dialogue that advances acceptance for people of all genders”.
Rose posted photos of the night on Instagram and wrote, “Tonight was EVERYTHING... Thank you @taylorswift thank you @glaad thank you to everyone who came out to be part of an amazing night. I feel truly blessed and humbled. I’m going to go cry and hold my pillow like a teddy now because I feel like I’m dreaming.”
Rose wasn’t the only Australian to win on the night. Perth singer Troye Sivan picked up outstanding music artist for his debut 2015 album Blue Neighbourhood.
Earlier in the day Rose took to Instagram to reflect on her 2013 struggles with depression. She wrote that at the time she hit “rock bottom” and believed she had “failed at being a human being”. She relocated to the US for therapy and rehab.
“I’m just feeling reflective because I chose to fight and I thought it meant I’d be able to live. I DIDNT think it meant I’d be able to live my dream. I DIDNT think it would result in this extraordinary life I get to be a part of now... It just makes me wonder how many others are days, hours, seconds away from realizing their worth.. Their potential.. And once the dark cloud is lifted will be truly happy and free..”
Rose features in several upcoming Hollywood films scheduled for early 2017 release: xXx: The Return of Xander Cage with Vin Diesel; Resident Evil: The Final Chapter with Milla Jovovich; and John Wick: Chapter Two with Keanu Reeves.
Other Glaad award recipients from the evening include singer Demi Lovato for her advocacy for acceptance of the LGBT community; Caitlyn Jenner for her reality television series I Am Cait; Bessie, the HBO telemovie about blues singer Bessie Smith; Amazon Instant Video comedy series Transparent; singer Ricky Martin; and Netflix sci-fi drama Sense8, which was created and written by transgender sisters Lilly and Lana Wachowski.
In her first public appearance since she announced her transition last month, Lilly accepted the award on behalf of the show, opening with “ta-da!”. She said while the canon of work produced by her and her sister was now being reconsidered through the lens of their gender transitions, “the bedrock that all ideas rest upon is love”.
Full list of Glaad 2016 winners
- Vanguard award: Demi Lovato
- Stephen F Kolzak award: Ruby Rose
- Outstanding reality program: I Am Cait (E!) tied with I Am Jazz (TLC)
- Outstanding TV movie or limited series: Bessie (HBO)
- Outstanding drama series: Sense8 (Netflix)
- Outstanding Spanish-language television interview: “Orientación sexual y acoso escolar” Realidades en Contexto (CNN en Español)
- Outstanding film – wide release: Carol (The Weinstein Company)
- Outstanding comedy series: Transparent (Amazon Instant Video)
- Outstanding documentary: Kumu Hina (PBS)
- Outstanding daily drama: The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS)
- Outstanding music artist: Troye Sivan, Blue Neighbourhood (Capitol Records)
- Outstanding comic book: Lumberjanes, written by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh (BOOM! Studios)
- Outstanding talk show episode: Janet Mock Super Soul Sunday (OWN)
- Outstanding novela: Rastros de Mentiras (MundoMax)
- Outstanding music artist: Ricky Martin, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (Sony Music Latin)
- Outstanding local television interview: “La nueva transgeneración”, Enfoque Los Ángeles (KVEA-Telemundo 52 [Los Ángeles])
- Outstanding local TV journalism: Cada 29 horas, Noticias 19 (KUVS-Univision 19 [Sacramento])
- Outstanding newspaper article: Padres transgénero – El único requisito para ser papá es el amor por los hijos by Virginia Gaglianone (La Opinión)
- Outstanding digital journalism article: Perú: violaciones correctivas: El terrible método para ‘curar’ a las lesbianas by Leire Ventas (BBCMundo.com)
