On Saturday night, March 30th, Christina Aguilera was slated to receive the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Ally for Equality Award at the 2019 HRC National Dinner in Los Angeles.
Since Aguilera was not able to come to the event and accept in person, the pop star took to her Instagram and posted a message of support and love to the LGBTQ community, thanking them for supporting her throughout her career. “Since the very beginning of my career I have leaned on the LGBTQ+ community for support, friendship, joy and acceptance,” she wrote. “I have crawled out of some of my darkest times thanks to the small group of people I surround myself with – fellow dancers, glam artists, and creatives who I realize are overcoming obstacles of their own – the fights for freedom, the struggles for equality, and prayers for acceptance.”
The star said she identifies with those in the community so strongly because she has also struggled to be true to herself in the industry. “What I realize is that I would not have had the power to be where I am today without the return acceptance from those who, like myself, were labeled as ‘other,’” she wrote.
Aguilera joined past honorees like Meryl Streep, P!nk, Jennifer Lopez and more. The annual award is given to celebrities who have helped forward the conversation on LGBTQ issues to mainstream audiences.
Read Christina Aguilera’s full letter to the LGBTQ community here.
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Photo Credit: Jamie Lamor Thompson / Shutterstock.com