Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon were honored as allies to the LGBTQ community during Saturday night’s Point Honors New York virtual gala.
The married stars appeared via video to accept the Point Leadership Award, where Sedgwick expressed that, “Growing up with a best friend who is queer, and so many LGBTQ people who are members of our biological families and our families of choice, supporting this community was never really a question, it was a matter of course. We are as committed to their right to live and love as they choose as we are our own.”
“When it came time to support gay marriage, it seemed like a no brainer. Marriage seemed to be working out okay for us so shouldn’t anybody who wants to get married be allowed to, regardless of who they love or how they identify?,” added Bacon, before joking, “Our friend Dolly Parton said it best: ‘Of course gay people should be allowed to get married, why shouldn’t they be as miserable as everybody else?'”
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The couple also shouted out the work of Point Foundation, now in its 20th year of helping LGBTQ students achieve their full academic and leadership potential – despite the obstacles often put before them — to make a significant impact on society. Point is the nation’s largest higher education scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students and also provides mentoring, leadership and internship experiences.
The Prom‘s Jo Ellen Pellman and Ariana DeBose were also recognized during the event with the Point Foundation Horizon Award, which recognizes young people who have taken leadership roles as advocates for the future of the LBGTQ community.
“We wanted to find a way to help our community, to help young LGBTQ people who were going to be watching this film and might be affected by the tough topics it brings up,” said Pellman in the duo’s speech. “We wanted to act as a bridge between our young audiences and these amazing organizations like Point that serve the LGBTQ community.”
“Our future generations of Point scholars, I hope for them that they feel empowered to go out and speak their minds and be active in their communities because as we just said, we need them as leaders,” added DeBose. “We are in such a transformative time and we need their knowledge and expertise to help lead us into the future to create a more sustainable world.”
The gala, hosted by Saturday Night Live’s Punkie Johnson, also featured with a musical performance by New Kids On The Block’s Joey McIntyre.
