Music icon Elton John already had an award named after him. Now it has become a bigger awards program: The Elton John Impact Awards, which are being presented to influential members of the LGBTQ+ community and prominent allies.
The Elton John Impact Awards, created by iHeartMedia and consumer packaged goods giant P&G, will launch June 1 as a podcast series on the iHeartRadio app and on all major podcast platforms. It also will air as an audio special on iHeartRadio PRIDE stations. (Listen to the trailer below.)
The Elton John Impact Award was first introduced in 2022 at “Can’t Cancel Pride,” a virtual benefit concert launched by iHeartMedia and P&G, where John was its inaugural recipient in recognition of his decades-long advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights and the fight to end AIDS. Since then, the award’s individual honorees have included singer Brandi Carlile and actor Billy Porter — and has now evolved into the Elton John Impact Awards. Over the course of five years, Can’t Cancel Pride raised over $17 million for LGBTQ+ nonprofits.
The first group of honorees in the expanded awards are Jonathan Bailey, Laverne Cox, Melissa Etheridge, Billie Jean King, Orville Peck and Chappell Roan. Each will be presented with a gold-plated trophy inspired by John’s famous bling-y eyewear.
