Arts & Entertainment
Samira Wiley, Gloria Carter, ‘CMBYN,’ honored at GLAAD Media Awards
Halsey, Ava DuVernay also received recognition
Samira Wiley accepting the Vito Russo Award at the GLAAD Media Awards (Screenshot via YouTube)
The 29th annual GLAAD Media Awards continued in New York City on Saturday hosted by Ross Matthews.
D.C. native Samira Wiley was presented the Vito Russo Award by her “The Handmaid’s Tale” co-star Alexis Bledel. Wiley recounted when she first came out to her parents in 2008 while accepting the speech.
“I heard the words, ‘I like girls’ come out of my mouth,” Wiley says. “When I was finished I looked up and I said, ‘OK, I’m done.’ I waited, and my father looked at me and said, ‘Cool.’”
Jay-Z was honored with the Special Recognition Award for the track “Smile,” included on his latest album “4:44,” which features his mother Gloria Carter coming out. Carter accepted the award on her son’s behalf.
“‘Smile’ became a reality, because I shared with my son who I am. Not that people didn’t know. It was someone that they didn’t talk about but they loved me anyway.” Carter explained in her speech. “But to me, this was the first time that I spoke to anyone about who I really am.”
“Call Me By Your Name” won Outstanding Film which was accepted by screenwriter James Ivory and producer Peter Spears. Outstanding Music Artist was awarded to Halsey for her album, “Hopeless Fountain Kingdom.”
Ava DuVernay was also presented the Excellence in Media Award by Sen. Cory Booker.
“We were never meant to survive,” DuVernay says in her speech.“I thank my LGBTQ comrades for your fight, for your resilience, for your daring, for your dignity, for your declaration of self, and I dedicate this award tonight to those of every pronoun.”
Read the complete list of winners below.
Outstanding Documentary: “Gender Revolution: A Journey With Katie Couric” (National Geographic)
Outstanding Music Artist: Halsey, “Hopeless Fountain Kingdom”
Outstanding Talk Show Episode: “Australian Marriage Equality,” “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)
Outstanding TV Journalism — Newsmagazine: “The Pulse of Orlando: Terror at the Nightclub,” “Anderson Cooper 360” (CNN)
Outstanding TV Journalism Segment: “Murders Raise Alarm for Transgender Community,” “NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt” (NBC)
Outstanding Newspaper Article: “The Silent Epidemic: Black Gay Men and HIV” by Gracie Bonds Staples (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Outstanding Magazine Article: “Forbidden Lives: The Gay Men Who Fled Chechnya’s Purge” by Masha Gessen (The New Yorker)
Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage: Billboard
Outstanding Digital Journalism — Multimedia: This Is How We Win’: Inside Danica Roem’s Historic Victory,” by Diana Tourjée (Broadly.Vice.com)
Outstanding TV Journalism — Newsmagazine (Spanish Language): “Pulse, Huellas de la Masacre,” “Docufilms” (CNN en Español)
Outstanding TV Journalism Segment (Spanish Language): “Comunidad LGBTQ Vulnerable Bajo Nuevo Gobierno,” “Perspectiva Nacional” (Entravision)
Sports
Jason Collins dies at 47
First openly gay man to actively play for major sports team battled brain cancer
Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to actively play for a major professional sports team, died on Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 47.
The California native had briefly played for the Washington Wizards in 2013 before coming out in a Sports Illustrated op-ed.
Collins in 2014 became the first openly gay man to play in a game for a major American professional sports league when he played 11 minutes during a Brooklyn Nets game. He wore jersey number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student murdered outside of Laramie, Wyo., in 1998.
Collins told the Washington Blade in 2014 that his life was “exponentially better” since he came out. Collins the same year retired from the National Basketball Association after 13 seasons.
Collins married his husband, Brunson Green, in May 2025.
The NBA last September announced Collins had begun treatment for a brain tumor. Collins on Dec. 11, 2025, announced he had Stage 4 glioblastoma.
“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” said Collins’s family in a statement the NBA released. “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Collins’s “impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.”
“He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador,” said Silver. “Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”
“To call Jason Collins a groundbreaking figure for our community is simply inadequate. We truly lost a giant today,” added Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “He came out as gay — while still playing — at a time when men’s athletes simply did not do that. But as he powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation.”
“He was and will always be a legend for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are heartbroken to hear of his passing at the young age of 47,” she said. “Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will keep fighting on in his honor until the day everyone can be who they are on their terms.”
The Washington Blade will update this article with additional reaction when it becomes available.
Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week
Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.
The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.
Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.
“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”
Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.
Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.
Event Details:
📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026
⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP
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