Throughout her two-decade-long career, Britney Spears has maintained an open heart to all of her legion of fans, particularly those that are apart of the LGBTQ community, and that very acceptance and support was honored on Thursday night (April 12) when the pop titan took to the 29th annual GLAAD Media Awards to receive the biggest title of the night: the 2018 Vanguard Award.
For the star-studded affair, Spears received an introduction presentation from Ricky Martin as he detailed the 36-year-old titan's whirlwind career, which started back in 1998 with "... Baby One More Time." "Society has always put such an emphasis on what's normal, and to be different is unusual or seen as strange, but to be accepted unconditionally and to be able to express yourself as an individual through art is such a blessing," Britney kicked off her speech at the Beverly Hilton stage in Los Angeles.
After admitting that events like the GLAAD Media Awards help "show the world that we are not alone," the Glory singer paid tribute to the LGBTQ community. "We can all join hands together here and know that we are all beautiful. And we can lift each other up and show our gifts without hesitation," she continued. "Being a mother has shown me what it means to love unconditionally, and you all in this room have shown me throughout my career what it means to be loved unconditionally. It's such an honor to be here. Thank you so much to GLAAD. Thank you to the LGBTQ community, and my family and all of my friends."
Click here for a full list of winners from the 29th annual GLAAD Award Media Awards, which also saw Jim Parsons take home the Stephen F. Kolzak Award. More honors will be given out when the east coast installment of the ceremony takes place in New York on May 5.
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