The excitement was palpable in the ballroom of the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles as actor and comedian Sherry Cola took the stage to host the first-ever Critics Choice Association Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema & Television Friday night.
And what a way to celebrate the first Friday of Pride Month with a list of deserving honorees and respected presenters along with a room filled with community members and allies.
The honorees had been previously announced, but that didn’t lessen the excitement during the ceremonies, which took place after a celebratory cocktail hour and sit-down dinner in the ballroom.
The evening’s festivities started on a huge high note with [superfan and] Oscar winner Charlize Theron presenting the Reality TV Award to We’re Here.
The honorees were Nathan Lane for Career Achievement; Star Trek legend George Takei, who also led Sunday’s Gay Pride parade in Los Angeles for the Social Justice Award; Michaela Jae Rodriguez for the Vanguard Award; and performers Carl Clemons-Hopkins (Supporting Performance Hacks), Chris Perfetti (Breakthough for TV Series Abbott Elementary) , Fernando Casa (Rising Star Award for Acapulco); and Nava Mau (Breakthrough Limited Series for Baby Reindeer).
Also among the honorees were Palm Royale creator Abe Sylvia (Showrunner Award); Luke Gilford (Breakthrough Director for National Anthem); Oliver Hermanus (Director Award for Television – Mary & George); and Shakina (Writer Awards For Television Series –Quantum Leap). Kristen Kish took the TV Host Award for Top Chef.
It was another trophy in the case for Ru Paul’s Drag Race, which took the Trailblazer Award. Paramount Global and President and CEO of CBS George Cheeks presented the Industry Leadership Award to Funny Or Die’s Henry R. Munoz III.
Prolific producer Greg Berlanti presented the Producer Award to the Showtime and Paramount+ limited series Fellow Travelers, starring Matt Bomer.
Bomer was also among the list of starry presenters which included Ricky Martin, Sean Hayes, Ronan Farrow, Charlie Plummer, Karamo Brown and Sheryl Lee Ralph.
The celebration will start streaming on June 21st on HereTV, the first and largest LGBTQ+ TV and Streaming service in the country, and on the Critics Choice Association’s YouTube channel.
The event is the latest in the Critics Choice Association’s series of Celebrations that have included Celebration of Black Cinema & Television, Celebration of Latino Cinema & Television and Celebration of Asian Pacific Cinema & Television.
