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The Trevor Hero Award honors an individual for empowering youth and increasing visibility
and understanding of the LGBTQ community.
And tonight’s recipient of the Trevor Hero Award is not only empowering, she is an inspiration
to everyone she knows and millions of fans around the world, international superstar,
Katy Perry.
Katy has been involved with The Trevor Project for 2 years, first appearing on this stage
for Trevor Live in 2010 with Darren.
And most recently, Katy spent Transgender Day of Remembrance with Trevor staff and volunteers
to learn more about the unique challenges faced by gender non-conforming youth.
It’s not only what she's done to inspire and empower us, but also her commitment to
being a better, stronger ally for LGBT youth that makes Katy Perry our Trevor Hero this
year.
On behalf of The Trevor Project, I am proud to present the Trevor Hero Award to a true
inspiration and number one on my gym play list, Katy Perry.
Thank you! I finally feel accepted. Hey everyone, thank you so much for this incredibly humbling
award and this honor. I would like to thank Abbe, James, Peggy and the Stone family and
everyone at Trevor. Thank you so much.
I am really proud to be honored by The Trevor Project as a Trevor Hero. Honestly though,
I think we all know that the real heroes are the folks who are at the call center. I got
to meet them the other day and they took me through the process and it was incredibly
inspiring. I asked many questions and learned many things.
As much as I wish we didn’t have to, they are there day in and day out, reminding people
that there is value in staying. This organization has educated me so much.
You see, I grew up in a very intolerant environment – for a long time, I was told that people
who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning were an abomination. But when
I started to ask questions, it was hard to find an answer that made rational sense from
the bubble around me.
As I’ve grown up, I’ve freed myself from that mindset. Coming from where I came from,
I never would have thought the LGBTQ community would be so intricately woven into my everyday
life – from my management to my assistant who does all kinds of crazy things for me,
to my best friend who now comes to every family Christmas. I thank God there has been some
prospective growth in my family.
I believe in change and it’s not about judging, it’s about educating. See for me, I believe
that sexuality is fluid. Nobody introduces me as, “This is Katy Perry. She’s straight.”
I hope in the future that we will all be able to grow beyond labels. Beyond treating “the
gays” as a novelty friend group. See, I believe that everyone has value; that everyone
deserves respect; and that everyone deserves the chance to live their dream regardless
of their *** orientation or gender identity – or race, religion, size, the color of
their hair, or whether their favorite Golden Girl is Blanche or Dorothy. Dorothy.
I'm so nervous! I hope all LGBTQ youth know that they are as valuable as anyone else.
That they are amazing and unique, and make the world a more vibrant place. Trevor’s
life-saving, life-affirming work helps youth find the future they deserve. I want every
young person to choose to have a tomorrow, to dream for the future. And if they don’t
get to hear it enough, I hope they know that they can pick up the phone to call the Trevor
Lifeline, or log on and talk to someone on TrevorChat.
It’s alright to ask for help. You are worth it. Make a pledge to yourself to get help
if you need it because we need you in our lives.
My mantra has been, “Be yourself, and you can be anything.” I am so proud to be honored
by an organization that believes the same exact thing, and I'm so active in reminding
LGBTQ young people about it. I am looking forward to working so much more closely with
The Trevor Project in years to come.
And I thank you all for this award and for educating me so that I can educate others.
Thank you.