11 Artists Who Advocate For The LGBTQIA+ Community: Lady Gaga, Lil Nas X, Taylor Swift & More

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on June 21, 2023, and was updated on June 11, 2025 with the additions of Chappell Roan and Lady Gaga.

"I want to shout out every single person in this community. You guys, we're the f—in' lifeline of the world, I'm not even kidding. Happy Pride, everybody," Troye Sivan declared on stage on June 6.

Along with Jennifer Lopez, the pop star was headlining the World Pride Music Festival, where artists like Kim Petras, RAYE, RuPaul, Betty Who, Paris Hilton, and MARINA all descended on Washington D.C. to mark 50 years of Pride celebrations in the nation's capital.

Music has always been a safe haven for gay and trans people of all kinds — from the closeted kids in Middle America finding sanctuary in the songs of their favorite pop stars, to the out-and-proud artists forming the soundtrack for the next generation of LGBTQIA+ fans. And Pride has always been a special time of the year to celebrate visibility and inclusion in the music industry — a place where everyone deserves to show up and be seen (and heard!) as their authentic self, and where every proverbial note, melody and harmony make up a beautiful and unique soundtrack that can only be yours.

Recently, queer musicians and allies who use their platforms to stand up for the LGBTQIA+ community have felt more important than ever. Blatant anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiment continues to sweep the country, from hundreds of anti-LGBTQIA+ bills being introduced in state legislatures across the nation, to the Department of Defense purposely stripping legendary gay rights advocate Harvey Milk's name from a Navy ship during Pride, to states like Utah starting to ban Pride flags in schools and government buildings. But those who stand for the community are fighting even harder.

As Pride month carries on, GRAMMY.com has rounded up a list of eleven LGBTQIA+ artists, allies and bonafide gay icons who've made advocating for the community a central tenet of their music, their words and their actions. Of course, there are dozens to highlight, but take a look at how queer artists like Sivan and Lady Gaga and allies like Taylor Swift and Madonna have helped fans shine as their authentic selves.

ARTISTS

Betty Who

In June 2023, the indie pop star received an invitation directly from Joe Biden to perform at the White House's official Pride Celebration, where the then-President formally announced his administration's plan titled New Actions to Protect the LGBTQIA+ Community.

"Today was the biggest pride celebration ever held at the white house and i got to be a part of it!!!!!!!!" Betty, who identifies as both queer and bisexual, wrote afterwards on social media. "What an honour it is, how proud i am to be part of the lgbtqia+ [community]...queer joy spouting everywhere!!!"

A staple on the roster of Pride events across the country every year, Who shared an empowering message ahead of hitting the stage at World Pride in Washington D.C. two years later.

"To my LGBTQIA+ sisters, brothers, everyone in between, in the community: don't give too much of your time and energy to the people who don't get it," she said in a May 2025 interview with PRIDE. "Try and save it all for the people who do, and celebrate you for who you are. Because those are the people who reflect back to you what a special and amazing person you really are… You can't let other people hold you back from living your life and feeling the joy that you absolutely deserve to feel."

Big Freedia

In 2023, Big Freedia was honored by PFLAG — the nation's longest-running LGBTQIA+ organization — with its first-ever National Breaking Barriers Award. The honor is meant to shine the spotlight on "an individual who uses their platform to help remove obstacles to LGBTQIA+ and intersectional equality in pursuit of a more just, equitable and inclusive world."

Upon receiving the award, the bounce music trailblazer took to Instagram with a determined message, writing, "There's still so much work to do to fight discrimination and I will continue to work on behalf of our whole community to spread love, acceptance, inclusion and everyone's right TO BE FREE."

In May 2025, Freedia suffered a devastating loss when her partner of 20 years, Devon Hurst, passed away from complications with diabetes. "Happy pride month from me and my guardian angel," the GRAMMY nominee wrote on June 1, captioning a bittersweet photo with her late love to mark the start of another Pride season.

Chappell Roan

"I think throughout the year, I'm like, 'What can I get away with?' Because right now it's pretty tame for what it is like to be a gay artist," Chappell Roan told GRAMMY.com last year. "But I just want to push it to see how far can I go — with the most controversial outfits or things to rile people up. I'm not really afraid to do that."

That mantra has helped Roan become one of pop's current queens and the Best New Artist winner at the 2025 GRAMMYs. The outspoken star, who identifies as a lesbian, has unabashedly weaved her sexuality into her music, whether she's pining for a "Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl," calling out compulsory heterosexuality in "Good Luck, Babe!," or celebrating the place where she can express her true self in "Pink Pony Club." Her recent single "The Giver" continues that trend: "only a woman knows how to treat a woman right," she declares on the bridge.

She's also championed women's rights and trans rights during performances, using her platform to promote change and to uplift oppressed communities. And as she continues to stake her claim as a household name, Roan is ensuring that queer women are both seen and heard.

Lady Gaga

Since the very beginning of her career, Lady Gaga has been a fearless and unwavering champion of her LGBTQIA+ fans and the community at large. After all, there's a reason the superstar, who publicly came out as bisexual in a 2009 interview with Barbara Walters, is called Mother Monster.

As she rocketed up the charts with early hits like "Poker Face" and "Bad Romance," the pop star was unequivocal about her connection to the queer community, whether that meant telling an interviewer on the red carpet that her inspiration came from "God and the gays" or famously dismissing transphobic questions about her own anatomy in a 2011 sit down with Anderson Cooper. (Years later, she admitted her now-famous response to the offensive line of questioning was a conscious and purposeful effort to support any trans or intersex fans who'd found a safe space in her music.)

At nearly every turn, Gaga has used her platform to uplift her queer fans, giving them some of the greatest gay anthems of a generation, from "Born This Way" to "Abracadabra." She launched the Born This Way Foundation with her own mother in 2011, and has been a constant, outspoken advocate for gay rights on the political front — including at the 2025 GRAMMYs, where she declared that "Trans people deserve love" and "The Queer community deserves to be lifted up."

Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X has never been shy when it comes to sticking up for the queer community — and he usually does so with a healthy dose of snarky humor on social media. He's cheerfully clapped back about everything from the explicit queerness of his music videos and his place in the modern pantheon of hip-hop to conservative outrage over Pride-themed merchandise at retailers like Target.

"Can't believe target is supporting this nonsense, im never shopping there again, my son is not 'too cool for school' these shirts are ridiculous. He is going to school and he WILL learn," the GRAMMY winner wrote in a since-deleted tweet in 2023, mockingly referencing the anti-LGBTQIA+ crusaders upset with inclusive and trans-friendly apparel being sold at the popular retailer.

With anti-trans sentiments reaching dangerous new levels in the years since, Lil Nas is giving his fans a momentary escape with flamboyant and fun new singles like "HOT BOX" and "DREAMBOY" while choosing to remain optimistic about the future of the LGBTQIA+ community.

"Everything with the young males being taught these super conservative ways, at least in America: everything is shifting with this rebellious hyper-masculine thing," he told PAPER in April. "I think it's going to work itself out. I think things are going to be fine.

"I'm not trying to minimize what's happening," he continued. "I just think s— is going to work itself out, especially in the generation where everything is a trend. The second the next thing comes along, it will be like, 'Hey, we don't hate women and gay people anymore. Let's do something else now.'"

Kim Petras

Petras cemented her place as a rising star in the pop music echelon in February 2023, when she became the first trans woman to win the GRAMMY for Best Pop Duo/Group collaboration with Sam Smith for their subversive collaboration "Unholy." (Smith, who identifies as non-binary, also made history with the win, though they graciously ceded the floor for Petras to give her awestruck acceptance speech on the GRAMMYs stage.)

The German pop princess opened up about her experience growing up trans and the vulnerable state of trans youth in the ongoing political climate in the cover story of Out's 2023 Pride issue. "I literally was very suicidal as a kid, and I just wouldn't still be here had my parents not believed me," she told the magazine. "I hate that another generation is going through this, and I hate that young kids are going through the same s— I was going through, and that apparently just isn't changing. I think it's sad. I just never understood why people were so obsessed with what people do to be happy. Just focus on what you can do to be happy."

Petras was booked and busier than ever in 2025, criss-crossing the country to headline major Pride celebrations like Outloud Music Festival at WeHo Pride; World Pride Music Festival in Washington, D.C.; Nashville Pride Festival; Drag Me to Cowboys in Calgary, Alberta; San Diego Pride and more.

Troye Sivan

Years before releasing his debut album Blue Neighborhood in 2015, Troye Sivan came out publicly via YouTube. Since then, he's been consistently outspoken about his experiences as a gay artist in the music industry.

The Australia native has made an intentional point in his career of turning his visuals into unapologetic examples of queer art — from the lusty defiance of 2018's "My My My!" and to the "gushy juicy doting adoring power b^tt^m gay ballad" perfection that was 2021's "Angel Baby."

Perhaps most powerful of all, though, was his video for early single "Heaven" featuring Betty Who, which depicted historic moments in the LGBTQIA+ rights movement including some of the earliest Pride parades on record. "We have always been here. we will always be here. this video is dedicated to all those who've come before me and fought for our cause and those who now continue the fight," he wrote in the video's description. "in dark and light times, let's love forever. love, troye x."

Meanwhile, in the last two years, Sivan has established his place as at the very center of gay culture thanks to his 2023 album, Something to Give Each Other, and the headline-making SWEAT Tour with Charli xcx, who also tapped him to collaborate on the 2024 remix of Brat single "Talk Talk."

ALLIES

Beyoncé

Long considered a gay icon in her own right, Beyoncé paid reverential honor to the LGBTQIA+ community and her late uncle Johnny with 2022's RENAISSANCE, an undulating magnum opus inspired by the underground ballroom scene sparked by Black, trans and gay pioneers of the 1970s, '80s, '90s, and beyond.

Queen Bey also held space for queer artists throughout RENAISSANCE's sprawling, hour-long track list, collaborating with TS Madison and Big Freedia, sampling Kevin Aviance and late drag star Moi Renee, working with Honey Dijon behind the boards and more. "Thank you to all of the pioneers who originate culture, to all of the fallen angels whose contributions have gone unrecognized for far too long," the living legend wrote in a note posted to her personal website upon the album's release. "This is a celebration for you."

The most-awarded artist in GRAMMY history revived the spirit of RENAISSANCE during her 2025 COWBOY CARTER TOUR as well, performing fan favorite cuts from the era like "CUFF IT," "THIQUE," "I'M THAT GIRL" and "COZY" during the tour's final two acts.

Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons

Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds has emerged as a powerful advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community through his nonprofit organization Loveloud and its popular Utah festival, which he launched in 2017 to support LGBTQIA+ teens in the state's overwhelmingly conservative (and outspokenly anti-LGBTQIA+) Mormon community.

Since then, Reynolds and the Loveloud board — which includes out and proud musicians like Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees, Tegan Quin of Tegan & Sara, VINCINT, Greyson Chance, and Parson James — have expanded Loveloud's mission beyond the Mormonism of the Wasatch front. In 2023, Loveloud morphed into a traveling festival with stops in Austin, Texas (where dozens of anti-LGBTQIA+ laws have been pursued by the state legislature and Gov. Greg Abbott) and Washington D.C., and in 2024, held its first-ever events in New York City, Chicago and Miami after being named to the Out100.

Madonna

What hasn't Madonna done in her iconic career to lift up the LGBTQIA+ community? In fact, there's an entire Wikipedia page dedicated solely to her status as a living gay icon.

Famously, Her Madgesty's love for the gay community started with her early mentor and dance teacher Christopher Flynn. Early in her career, she became one of the first artists to speak out about the HIV/AIDS crisis and decry the stigmatization of gay people at the time.

She's been recognized by the GLAAD Media Awards multiple times, including in 1991 with the Raising Gay Awareness award and in 2019 with the Advocate for Change award. (At the latter ceremony, GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis stated, "Madonna always has and always will be the LGBTQ community's greatest ally.")

Naturally, the icon's Celebration Tour throughout 2023 and 2024 felt like one massive tribute to the queer community, whether the icon was paying emotional tribute to the lives lost to the HIV/AIDS crisis with "Live to Tell" or hosting an impromptu ballroom competition every night during "Vogue."

While that global tour has since concluded (with a record-setting concert at Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach, no less), Madonna has continued to celebrate her LGBTQIA+ fans by sharing messages about Trans Day of Visibility and Pride — and promoting the Trans Justice Funding Project — in the lead-up to the release of her long-rumored remix project Veronica Electronica.

Taylor Swift

While she'd slyly referenced her support for the LGBTQIA+ community in the past on songs like "Welcome to New York," Taylor Swift took a public stand in 2019 with her Lover era single "You Need to Calm Down." The gay anthem's celebratory music video issued a call to action for her fans to support the as-yet-unpassed Equality Act with her very own Change.org petition.

During her Eras Tour stop in Chicago in June 2023, the superstar spoke specifically to her LGBTQIA+ fans, promising them that her concerts would always be a "safe space" for them to celebrate who they are.

"I wish that every place was safe and beautiful for people in the LGBTQ community, I really wish that. We can't talk about Pride Month without talking about pain," she told the sold-out crowd of Swifties at Soldier Field. "There have been so many harmful pieces of legislation that have put people in the LGBTQ and queer community at risk. It's painful for everyone — every ally, every loved one, every person in these communities. And that's why I'm always posting, 'This is when the midterms are. This is when these important, key primaries are.'

"'Cause we can support as much as we want during Pride Month," the 12-time GRAMMY winner continued. "But if we're not doing our research on these elected officials — Are they advocates? Are they allies? Are they protectors of equality? Do I want to vote for them? — I love you guys so much, and happy Pride Month."