Zeke Smith Honored At The GLAAD Rising Stars Luncheon

Nico Tortorella speaks onstage throughout Rising Stars on the GLAAD Media Awards on Could 4, 2018 on the New York Hilton Midtown in New York Metropolis. (Picture by Cindy Ord/Getty Pictures for GLAAD) GLAAD celebrated the Rising Stars Luncheon on the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York on Friday. “Youthful” star Nico Tortorella hosted the particular luncheon the place GLAAD introduced that CBS’ “Survivor: Sport Changers” was the winner of the GLAAD Media Award within the Excellent Actuality Program class. The award was accepted by contestant Zeke Smith. This was Smith’s second consecutive season on the hit present, and issues went in a unique course when throughout a heated tribal council, one other participant informed the tribe that Smith was a transgender man and accused him of being misleading just because he had not disclosed his gender historical past to the opposite gamers. Smith’s tribe got here to his protection, however he revealed that it actually modified his life as he was publicly outed on TV.  Zeke Smith speaks onstage throughout Rising Stars on the GLAAD Media Awards on Could 4, 2018 on the New York Hilton Midtown in New York Metropolis. (Picture by Cindy Ord/Getty Pictures for GLAAD)  “My grand public outing made international headlines. Collectively, we modified hundreds of thousands of individuals’s perceptions of transgender folks. We shattered stereotypes. We created a worldwide dialog about privateness and respect. Over the previous yr, I’ve met plenty of trans children. Transitioning in center and highschool is tough. I see these children struggling to retain hope that they’ll have an equal shot on the earth. LGBTQ visibility on tv issues as a result of for a lot of it’s the solely probability to glimpse their future. And to see that it is vitally brilliant,” Zeke shared.  The award was introduced by Jackie Evancho (singer), Juliet Evancho (trans advocate), and Frankie Grande (tv persona). Frankie J. Grande, Juliet Evancho and Jackie Evancho communicate onstage throughout Rising Stars on the GLAAD Media Awards on Could 4, 2018 on the New York Hilton Midtown in New York Metropolis. (Picture by Cindy Ord/Getty Pictures for GLAAD) http://feeds.accesshollywood.com/~r/AccessHollywood/LatestNews/~3/vEssiMjrUrk/