Greg Berlanti on why his PGA honor comes mixed with sadness: “I desperately want the world to change”

Greg Berlanti was presented with the the Norman Lear Achievement Award at the PGA Awards on Saturday night.

He shared with the audience that when he was becoming aware of his sexuality in the early 1980s, the only queer content on television happened to be news reports about the AIDS crisis and not much else.

“There were no apps, no social media to connect with other queer kids, no LGBTQ+ advocacy groups in schools. Not having a single connection to or support of other gay people, not being able to say ‘gay’ or whatever the hell they’re saying down there, that didn’t make me less gay — it just made me more lonely,” he shared. “I spent many sleepless nights as a kid terrified I would never be able to muster up the courage to share my truth with the world. Around this time, I discovered I loved telling stories.”

“I can draw a line between the kind of shows that Norman made and all the shows that came after that dare to portray America as it really was, and by doing so, help to change all of us for the better,” he also said. “To have traveled that distance from that scared kid in that bed to this evening — where my incredible husband, Robbie (Rogers), sits in the audience with our two beautiful children, Caleb and Mia, asleep at home ­— to think about how much the world had to change to make the life I’m living now possible, even in hindsight, is unimaginable to me. I’m proud of whatever small part I’ve played in continuing Norman’s great legacy.”

Referencing the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and moves by Republican lawmakers to target LGBTQ+ youth, Berlanti admitted the award comes with some sadness “because I know how many trans, nonbinary and queer kids are still having those sleepless nights. I desperately want the world to change for them just like it did for me. I believe and hope that it will, in large part because of the kinds of stories that so many of you are going to make sure get told.”

See The Hollywood Reporter for a full report.