A big congratulations are in order for this year's OUT100 honorees!
Out magazine just released its 22nd annual list of celebrities and public figures being recognized for their extraordinary contributions to the LGBTQ+ community, and its cover stars include actor Jonathan Groff, transgender intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, Master of None's Lena Waithe and designer Shayne Oliver.
They each receive the Entertainer of the Year, Newsmaker of the Year, Artist of the Year and Stylemaker of the Year Award, respectively. In all, the issue celebrates 100 different esteemed change-makers at a culminating gala held November 9 in New York City.
Each cover star sat down with Out to discuss their sexual identities, and its impact on their personal lives as well as culture as a whole.
Groff, who won a Tony for his performance in Hamilton, currently stars as an FBI special agent in the Netflix crime series, Mindhunter. Playing a straight man, Jonathan commented to the mag, "His sexuality is a huge part of the story, because Holden is having his sexual awakening while talking to psychosexual killers, which is such a bizarre and interesting character arc."
"I think one of the benefits of being out is that you can share your stories, be who you are, and put yourself in the work regardless," he continued.
Waithe agrees, who said she believes her character opposite Aziz Ansari on the Netflix comedy is much more than a simple extension of herself.
"I wanted to say something about our community, particularly the queer community—to share that with them because that's what the story was really about: coming out," she shared. "It was bigger than me, bigger than one episode of television... I hoped that they could see through me that when you tell your story, when you live your authentic life, only good things will come from it."
Others being recognized include Billie Jean King, Colton Haynes, Samira Wiley, Sean Hayes, Shannon Purser, St. Vincent, Girls' Andrew Rannels, Transparent's Shakina Nayfack, Broad City's Parker Kit Hill, designer Jeffrey Costello, social media sensation Gigi Gorgeous, LCD Soundsystem member Gavin Russom, American Gods' Byran Fuller and many more.
Check out the full OUT100 list and read more from the honorees, here.