Now that we’ve all reclaimed our time, it’s officially the summer of self-care. In that spirit, OUT magazine held its annual OUT Power 50 event on Thursday night, celebrating not only LGBT pride but also expressing it through personal agency and influence. Iconoclasts like Caitlyn Jenner, Roxane Gay, and Gigi Gorgeous toasted CNN anchor Don Lemon and singer/songwriter Justin Tranter, Power 50 honorees and the night’s special award winners.
The event is an extension of the magazine’s yearly Power 50 list, which comprises fifty of the culture’s most influential LGBT movers and shakers. This year, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow took the top slot on the list, which focused on “individuals [who used] their notoriety to give back.”
The night’s festivities offered a mix of executive realness and flag-waving thrills; 500 guests filled out L.A.’s Goya Studios to watch the debut of OUT’s “The Power Of…” video series, the first of which featured Lemon tearfully recalling his grandmother’s acceptance of him. Tranter, co-scribe of Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” and former front man of Lady Gaga opening act Semi Precious Weapons, accepted his award in true glam-rock fashion: leaving the stage, he treated the crowd to a triumphant high kick.
