And Just Like That… actor and LGBTQ+ rights advocate Cynthia Nixon delivered a powerful speech at equalpride's Pride of Broadway celebration on Monday.
As the cover star of The Advocate's Pride issue, Nixon delivered a speech at the Pride of Broadway event, where she was honored along with Out's Pride issue cover stars Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Maleah Joi Moon, Lea Salonga, and Megan Hilty.
After being welcomed to the stage by host Sam Champion, Nixon told a story about a friend who lives in Seattle who saw The Advocate in a supermarket, drawing cheers from the crowd.
"At a time when so many magazines have shuttered and at a time when it is so important to have a free press and it is so important especially to have a queer free press, as they're trying to silence us and erase our beauty, and we always have known that our visibility is the most important thing not only to surviving but to thriving," Nixon said about the honor of being on the cover of The Advocate during Pride month.
"We've really come a long way in 20 years, on-screen and off screen, and I don't know about you, but I'm not planning to go back. And I read in The Advocate that I think 14 corporate sponsors have dropped out of Pride this year. And four out of the platinum sponsors, which means corporations that give $175,000 or more, four out of five of them have dropped out," she added. "And I just want to say bigger isn't always better, and that, for me, Pride the last few years has just gotten a little sanitized and corporatized. And I think we don't need these people coming in and trying to steal our glitter and our glory and our spotlight. At a time like this, we need it to be us and the people who really care about us and want to fight for us."
In her cover story for The Advocate, the Emmy, Tony, and Grammy winner discussed the recent viral video of her speech, in which she defended trans kids at a protest outside NYU Langone Hospital.
"It felt particularly personal because it was pretty much in our backyard. We live in the shadow of NYU Langone, and it was the place where my son got his first treatment and got his surgery," Nixon said about her 28-year-old transgender son, Sam. "He received such wonderful care from such an amazing surgeon. So that seemed very personal."
She also spoke on what she's doing to not let President Trump's attacks on women and the queer community get to her.
"My kids are thriving; my wife is beautiful. I am happy and have these wonderful projects that are about to come out," Nixon said. "Queer joy and trans joy — I do think that these are political acts. You may be controlling a lot of the levers of power, but you are not controlling the levers of me."
The Pride of Broadway Red Carpet is sponsored by Maybelline New York with support for the cover party from Gay Water, Heineken, Hornitos Tequila, and official hotel partner Motto Times Square.
