From Lady Gaga to Elton John, celebrating Hollywood's LGBTQ icons

Pride month is here! It's that time of the year when the world's LGBTQ communities unite to celebrate the right to love freely to whoever one wants. Hollywood has always embracing the community through representation and film roles. Stars like Elton John, Lady Gaga have made a unique contribution to the community. Here's a look at some of the biggest gay icons of LGBTQ community.

Lady Gaga has been quite vocal about her sexuality from the beginning of her carrier. The first time Lady Gaga came out as bisexual was during an interview with Barbara Walters. ''It’s not a lie that I am bisexual and I like women, and anyone that wants to twist this into 'she says she's bisexual for marketing,' this is a f---ing lie. This is who I am and who I have always been.'' she said during a show 'Watch What Happens Life'. 

Gaga also owns 'Born This Way Foundation' which she started in the year 2011 and over the years they have helped thousands of LGBTQ children and teens. The foundation has launched initiatives like #HackHarassment, Channel Kindness, and #KindMonsters to help end bullying of LGBTQ youth.

Elton John came out as bisexual in the year 1976 - a time when it wasn’t a trendy or common thing for stars to do so. ''There's nothing wrong with going to bed with somebody of your own sex. I think everybody's bisexual to a certain degree. I don't think it’s just me. It’s not a bad thing to be. I think you’re bisexual. I think everybody is,'' he told in an interview.

The singer has been an influencer for many artists including Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus to Adam Lambert.  John and his husband David Furnish were one of the first couples to register for a civil partnership in 2005 in the United Kingdom. 

John from over the years have been working for AIDS prevention, he has also established the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, which has raised more than $400 million. and annual high-profile Oscar party also raises money for AIDS prevention.
 

Laverne Cox is best known for her portryal in Netflix’s groundbreaking series 'Orange Is the New Black', Back in 2014 she was the first openly transgender person to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy in any acting category. She has also won her Daytime Emmy Award for producing the docu-series 'Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word.'

One of the known faces of Hollywood, Ellen De Generes came out as gay in 1997 and was first LGBTQ star have her own primetime show. Over the years, her show has influenced American's attitudes about gay rights more than any other celebrity or public figure.

In the year 2016, she was praised by Barack Obama, the then US President for her influence on the gay rights movement as she received the country's highest civilian honour 'Presidential Medal of Freedom'.

In 2021, actor Billy Porter revealed that he has been living with HIV for 14 years and decided to make the revelation now as he hopes to free himself from "that shame in silence".

In fact, the 51-year-old actor made history by winning an Emmy in 2019 for his role as Pray Tell, a character who is HIV-positive, on the acclaimed FX series Pose."The truth is the healing. And I hope this frees me. I hope this frees me so that I can experience real, unadulterated joy, so that I can experience peace, so that I can experience intimacy, so that I can have sex without shame. This is for me," Billy told The Hollywood Reporter .5. Greg LouganisOlympic diver Greg Louganis found out he was HIV positive six months before the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He faced several challenges as he was accused of putting other divers to the risk of HIV.

In her February 2017 appearance on Saturday Night Live, Stewart described herself as "so gay". Later in an interview, she clarified that she was bisexual, saying, "You're not confused if you're bisexual ''.