Sean Hayes will receive Outfest Trailblazer Award

Outfest has just announced it will be honoring Sean Hayes at its 2016 Legacy Awards later this month in addition to previously announced honorees Jill Soloway and Freeform.

Hayes is receiving the Trailblazer Award in recognition of his career as a stage, film, television, and recording artist and for his longtime, passionate support of the LGBT community.

“Sean Hayes portrayal of Jack on NBC’s ‘Will & Grace’ took the stereotypical gay sissy and made him human, loveable, flawed, and real. ‘Will & Grace’ first went on the air in 1998 long before it was ‘cool’ or politically correct to have a show that placed LGBT characters front and center and treated them with respect. Jack lived in a land where it was ok to simply be Jack – open, honest, funny, and real. We have Sean to thank for the doors that opened,” said Christopher Racster, Outfest’s Executive Director.

As previously announced, Soloway will be honored with the Visionary Award, which recognizes artistic and creative contributions to the LGBT media visibility for a body of work that includes Transparent. Freeform is receiving the Corporate Trailblazer Award in recognition of its groundbreaking programming for young adults, people in high school, college and the decade that follows which includes such LGBT-friendly programs including Pretty Little Liars, The Fosters and Shadowhunters.

The 2016 Legacy Awards will take place on Sunday, October 23rd at performing arts venue Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles.

The Legacy Awards serves as a fundraiser to support the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project, which celebrates its 11th anniversary this year.

Previous Legacy Award winners include Tom Hanks (Philadelphia), Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right), Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City), Hilary Swank (Boys Don’t Cry), Lee Daniels (Empire), Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Chicago) Adam Shankman (Hairspray), Roland Emmerich (Stonewall), Alan Poul (The Newsroom), Bruce Cohen (Silver Linings Playbook), and Paris Barclay (Glee).

#JustAnnounced: "Outfest, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization promoting equality by creating, sharing, and protecting LGBT stories on the screen, announced today that it will honor Emmy Award-winning actor and producer Sean Hayes (“Will and Grace”) in addition to previously announced honorees Jill Soloway and Freeform at the 2016 Legacy Awards." #LegacyAwards2016 For tickets: outfest.org/legacyawards2016/index.html

A photo posted by Outfest (@outfest) on Oct 5, 2016 at 2:51pm PDT