Elton John and David Furnish at the 'Rocketman' U.K. premiere in London in 2019. Courtesy of Tristan Fewings/Getty Images iHeartMedia and Procter & Gamble have teamed up to launch the inaugural Elton John Impact Awards, which will honor trailblazing LGBTQ+ community members and prominent allies.
The awards aim to recognize “those whose lifelong work has inspired change and shaped culture while also giving back to LGBTQ+ organizations that uplift the communities they serve.”
The honorees are Jonathan Bailey, Laverne Cox, Melissa Etheridge, Billie Jean King, Orville Peck and Chappell Roan, who will be celebrated for their impact on the LGBTQ+ community. Hosted by Billy Porter and Elvis Duran, the special will launch as a podcast series June 1 on the iHeartRadio app and everywhere podcasts are heard and as an audio special airing across iHeartRadio PRIDE stations. The special will also feature a performance of John’s “Your Song” by Dove Cameron along with candid, personal conversations with Elton John; John’s husband, David Furnish, who is chair of the Elton John AIDS Foundation; and this year’s honorees.
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Organizers said the program also will help boost awareness and funding for several organizations supporting the LGBTQ+ community, including the Elton John AIDS Foundation. In partnership with Brandi Carlile’s Looking Out Foundation, additional funds will be granted to CenterLink, GLAAD, the National Black Justice Collective, Outright International, SAGE and the Trevor Project.
“I’ve always believed in the power of storytelling to connect us and challenge us,” John said. “These conversations bring together the people who have shaped LGBTQ+ culture and fought for dignity at a time when the world too often looked away. Some are friends who stood beside me through the AIDS crisis, others are carrying the torch forward with the new generation. Hearing their stories and reflecting on how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go is deeply humbling. This is history that cannot be forgotten and these are voices that must be heard.”
This year’s honorees were chosen by a panel of luminaries who worked closely with John, including Furnish, Billy Porter, Brandi Carlile, Elton John AIDS Foundation CEO Anne Aslett and Can’t Cancel Pride’s and Elton John Impact Awards’ founding producers Brent Miller of P&G and John Sykes of iHeartMedia.
The Elton John Impact Award was first introduced in 2022 at Can’t Cancel Pride, a virtual benefit concert launched by iHeartMedia and P&G. John was the inaugural recipient, with subsequent honorees including Carlile and Billy Porter.
“The Elton John Impact Awards spotlight the vital work of organizations protecting LGBTQ+ communities and advancing health equity around the world,” Furnish said. “At a time when LGBTQ+ rights and health equity remain under threat globally, investing in organizations on the frontlines has never been more urgent.”
Listen to the trailer for the podcast special here.
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