Former Disney star Dove Cameron won Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday and dedicated the honor to “all of the queer kids who don’t feel that they can take up space and inhabit the fullness of who they are.”
During her acceptance speech, the 26-year-old pop singer/actress thanked fans for getting her “overtly queer song” “Boyfriend” on the airwaves.
“This is so wild to be up here with so many artists that I worship,” Cameron told the crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. “These are some of my all-time favorite artists up here. This year has been so wild and I have no explanation for it, except for that I have you guys to thank. I know that.”
“I wanna dedicate this to all of the queer kids out there,” she added. “Who don’t feel that they can take up space and inhabit the fullness of who they are. Thank you for getting an overtly queer song on to mainstream radio. Thank you for supporting me for the person and artist that I am. I hope in that way, you’ve also given that privilege to yourself.”
In 2021, the Disney star came out as “super queer,” Gay Times noted.
WATCH:
Sending major congratulations your way, @DoveCameron!
Dove took home the moon person for Best New Artist at the #VMAs! pic.twitter.com/yYRh9QyWCD
— Video Music Awards (@vmas) August 29, 2022
The former star of the Disney Channel show “Liv and Maddy” wasn’t the only person at the awards show Sunday to mention LGBTQ issues.
Actor Billy Eichner took the stage to introduce Panic! At The Disco and promote his upcoming gay rom-com. He then took a swipe at United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, calling him a “homophobe” and claiming that same-sex marriage is under attack.
WATCH:
.@billyeichner calls out Justice Clarence Thomas while promoting the first gay rom-com with an all openly LGBTQ+ cast:
“We need to show all the homophobes like Clarence Thomas and all the homophobes on the Supreme Court that we want gay love stories and we support LGBTQ people.” pic.twitter.com/3Yro1VwcT9
— The Recount (@therecount) August 29, 2022
“…We need to show all the homophobes like Clarence Thomas and all the homophobes on the Supreme Court that we want gay love stories and we support LGBTQ people,” Eichner told the MTV VMA crowd.
“And we are not letting them drag us back into the last century,” he added. “Because they are in the past and [his movie] is the future.”
(Disclosure: The Daily Wire has announced plans for kids entertainment content.)
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