In her lengthy and prodigious career, Mariah Carey has won literally dozens of awards celebrating her musical achievements, but on Saturday night she said that receiving an award from GLAAD as an “ally” of the gay, lesbian and transgender agenda was somehow “more real” than the other tributes she has received.
“Some awards are about statistics and things like that, and some are about like something a little more real. Do you know what I mean?” Carey said. “This feels like one of those moments, so I think it’s great.”
Among the “less real,” “statistical” awards that Carey has amassed during her career were a place in the Guinness Book of World records for her phenomenal 7-octave vocal range, the World Music Awards Best-Selling Female Artist of the Millennium, the Chopard Diamond Award for sales of over 100 million albums worldwide, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
All of this pales, apparently, before the encomium of the LGBT community. Openly gay director Lee Daniels, who presented Carey her award at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, offered her high praise indeed: “Mariah is one of us,” he said, according to Variety. “I know many celebrities that pretend to be one of us. This bitch is one of us. To the marrow.”
In her acceptance speech, the 46-year-old singer gushed about the beauty of the LGBT movement, saying she was “a little nervous” because she had to learn a whole new alphabet.
“And then I decided that if I have to memorize it, I might as well elaborate on it,” Carey continued. “So we’ve got ‘L,’ legendary. ‘G,’ gorgeous. ‘B,’ beautiful, all of you beautiful, beautiful people. ‘T,’ tantalizing, and even ‘Q,’ for quality.”
The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their “fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives,” according to the organization’s website.
Carey received GLAAD’s Ally Award, which is presented to a media figure “who has consistently used their platform to support and advance LGBT equality and acceptance.”
In presenting her credentials for the award, GLAAD said that Carey has long embraced her LGBT fanbase worldwide and graced the cover of OUT Magazine. She has also participated in GLAAD’s annual anti-bullying campaign, Spirit Day, wearing purple to show her support for LGBT youth.
During a concert in 2009, Carey brought a gay fan onstage to propose to his boyfriend.
Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter Follow @tdwilliamsrome
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.