Demi Lovato And Cast Of Glee To Reunite To Tribute Naya Rivera At GLAAD Awards

Tribute Naya Rivera: Demi Lovato and the cast of the television series Glee will tribute Naya Rivera, the late actor at the GLAAD Media Awards on April 8.

The 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards will air on the 10th anniversary of Rivera’s character Santana Lopez’s coming out. The Glee cast will be reuniting for a special tribute for Naya Rivera along with singer Demi Lovato who was a recurring character in Glee. Lovato who identifies as queer had played Rivera’s onscreen girlfriend, will be introducing the tribute. The tribute will feature cast members of Glee including Darren Criss, Lane Lynch, Amber Riley, Heather Morris, Jenna Ushkowitz, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Alex Newell, Matthew Morrison, Harry Shum Jr, Vanessa Lengies, Jacob Artist, and Becca Tobin.

Several cast members are not mentioned in the list of people attending the tribute, including Lea Michele, Chord Overstreet, and Dianna Agron.

Rivera’s character Santana Lopez had come out in the Glee episode titled “I Kissed a Girl”. On the 10th anniversary of the airing of that episode, the tribute will be honouring not only Rivera but also the impact she had on LGBTQ+ teenagers and queer Latina and Afro-Latina women.

Rivera had passed away in an accidental drowning at Lake Piru in California on July 8, 2020. To tribute Naya Rivera following her passing, the Gay Emmys added a new category named the Santana Lopez Legacy Award For Outstanding Queer Teen Character.

Have you voted in our 3rd annual Gay Emmys yet? This year we’ve added a new category — The Santana Lopez Memorial Award for Outstanding Queer Teen Character. https://t.co/WEO1mV9j2a pic.twitter.com/lpQ9aWePP1

— Autostraddle (@autostraddle) September 1, 2020

The GLAAD Media Awards will be hosted by Niecy Nash and will feature guests including Matt Bomer, Laverne Cox, Katy Perry, Dan Levy, Bretman Rock, Sterling K Brown, Mackenzie Davis, Clea DuVall, JoJo Siwa, Sam Smith, Jim Parsons, Bob The Drag Queen, Colman Domingo, and others.

The virtual ceremony will premiere on YouTube on April 8 and will also be streaming on Hulu.