Yahoo Lifestyle A Presenter Fell Hard After Presenting Oprah With A GLAAD Media Award, And It Was Tough To Watch
Maybe you know Chilli Pepper. She's a female impersonator and advocate for LGBTQ+ people.
If you don't know her, here's where you can learn more.
Well, last night, she was a presenter at the GLAAD Media Awards, along with podcaster Paolo Presta. They honored Oprah with the GLAAD Vanguard Award, recognizing the TV mogul for her allyship and work for equality.
During her speech, Oprah paid a tearful tribute to her brother, Jeffrey Lee, who died of AIDS in 1989 when he was just 29.
While reflecting on his death, Oprah explained how she started using The Oprah Winfrey Show as a platform for "stories that actually helped people be more of their authentic selves."
"What I've learned is that every single person wants the same thing—and that is the desire to feel seen and to know that what we say matters and to know that we matter," she shared.
Oprah said that's why, in 1988, she started celebrating National Coming Out Day on her show. "I wanted to create a space, a safe space, to bring the lives and the profound stories of the LGBTQ community front and center to our audience," she explained. "My intention at the time was to make it clear that every single person who comes to this planet deserves the right to love the person they want to love and be the person they most fully want to be."
Oprah went on to shout out the presenters as she recognized all the "spectacular" people in the room, saying, "A special thank you to Paolo and Ms. Chilli Pepper, who I have known since 1987."
Chilli previously told Chicago Magazine that she was Oprah's first friend after Oprah moved to Chicago, where she'd go on to film her show for 25 seasons. "I met Oprah two weeks after she first got to town, when she was nobody. I was her first friend here," Chilli recalled. "I’ve helped her with her hair, helped her with her makeup. She trusted me because the one thing that I know how to be is a good friend. And a silent friend. That’s very important."
As Oprah concluded her speech, Chilli walked up as if to hug her, but she ended up losing her balance and falling over.
Luckily, she seemed to recover quickly.
You can see the moment here.
Ouch! Glad you're okay, Chilli Pepper! And congrats, Oprah. You gave an amazing speech. You can see it down below:
