COVID-19 Shelves One of the Biggest LGBTQ Events of the Year

The GLAAD Media Awards ceremony, scheduled for April 16 in Los Angeles, has been postponed until this fall due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the new coronavirus disease.

GLAAD had already canceled the New York ceremony, which was set for March 31.

GLAAD's Rich Ferraro, chief communications officer and an executive producer of the GLAAD Media Awards, issued the following statement:

"In accordance with guidelines put in place by Governor Gavin Newsom, the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles are no longer taking place in April and we are working to reschedule the event to the fall.

"With the GLAAD Media Awards and some LGBTQ Pride celebrations being canceled or postponed, it is so crucial that our community supports one another during this time. We look forward to hosting an event later this year to celebrate the community, especially as we head into one of the most important elections in this nation's history.

"GLAAD is proud to honor the work and advocacy efforts of Janet Mock and Taylor Swift at this year's Los Angeles ceremony. They have made incredible strides for LGBTQ acceptance, and we look forward to celebrating their trailblazing work later this year."

Last week, GLAAD joined over 100 LGBTQ organizations in an open letter calling on U.S. public health officials and media to address the heightened vulnerability of LGBTQ people to COVID-19.