Janelle Monáe and Billy Porter were honoured Sunday at the inaugural Dorian TV Awards, handed out by GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics.
The two singers’ performance at the beginning of the 92nd Academy Awards in February was named Best TV Musical Performance.
“There was no other person I could think about sharing that stage with,” Monáe said during the Dorian TV Awards special that streamed on the Revry app. “I’m just so grateful that we got an opportunity to be ourselves. Our performance was rooted in community and making sure to amplify all of the marginalized voices, specifically our black and queer community.
“It wasn’t just about us. It was about all of us.”
Porter thanked Monáe for “putting her neck out for me and making sure that grandpa… I … was there with her.”
The pair beat out nominees Cynthia Erivo (for “Stand Up” at the Oscars), Jennifer Lopez and Shakira (Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show), Jake Gyllenhaal (“Music, Music Everywhere! on John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch) and Canada’s Noah Reid (for singing “Always Be My Baby” on Schitt’s Creek).
The Dorian Awards take their name from Oscar Wilde’s 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Winners were selected by more than 250 entertainment journalists in four countries. (By comparison, winners of the Golden Globes are chosen by only 87 voting members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.)
Presenters included actress-singer Lea DeLaria, musician Dave Koz and former Glee star Alex Newell (from Vancouver, where Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is shot).
Canadian series Schitt’s Creek was the big winner of the night, earning Best TV Comedy and Best LGBTQ Show as well as acting awards for its homegrown stars Catherine O’Hara, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy.
The author of this article is a member of GALECA and voted in the Dorian TV Awards.