Zeke Smith Honored At The GLAAD Rising Stars Luncheon

Zeke Smith Honored At The GLAAD Rising Stars Luncheon

GLAAD celebrated the Rising Stars Luncheon at the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York on Friday.

"Younger" star Nico Tortorella hosted the special luncheon where GLAAD announced that CBS’ "Survivor: Game Changers" was the winner of the GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Reality Program category. The award was accepted by contestant Zeke Smith.

This was Smith's second consecutive season on the hit show, and things went in a different direction when during a heated tribal council, another player told the tribe that Smith was a transgender man and accused him of being deceptive simply because he had not disclosed his gender history to the other players. Smith's tribe came to his defense, but he revealed that it really changed his life as he was publicly outed on TV.

“My grand public outing made global headlines. Together, we changed millions of people’s perceptions of transgender people. We shattered stereotypes. We created a worldwide conversation about privacy and respect. Over the past year, I’ve met a lot of trans kids. Transitioning in middle and high school is hard. I see these kids struggling to retain hope that they’ll have an equal shot in the world. LGBTQ visibility on television matters because for many it is the only chance to glimpse their future. And to see that it is very bright," Zeke shared.

The award was presented by Jackie Evancho (singer), Juliet Evancho (trans advocate), and Frankie Grande (television personality).