Naya Rivera Remembered by ‘Glee’ Cast at GLAAD Media Awards

The forged of “Glee” reunited nearly to recollect Naya Rivera, who died final July on the age of 33, on the GLAAD Media Awards on Thursday.

The tribute was opened by Demi Lovato, who had a quick function on the Fox sequence alongside Rivera.

“I don’t need to let you know that this 12 months was a tricky, robust 12 months,” Lovato mentioned. “A specific second of heartbreak stands out for me: shedding my buddy Naya Rivera. I’ll at all times cherish the prospect I received to play Naya’s girlfriend, Dani, on ‘Glee.’”

“The character Naya performed, Santana Lopez, was ground-breaking for closeted queer women — like I used to be on the time,” she went on. “And her ambition and accomplishments impressed Latina ladies all around the world.”

Lovato then launched the “Glee” forged: Jacob Artist, Chris Colfer, Darren Criss, Jessalyn Gilsig, Dot-Marie Jones, Vanessa Lengies, Jane Lynch, Kevin McHale, Heather Morris, Matthew Morrison, Alex Newell, Lauren Potter, Amber Riley, Harry Shum Jr., Becca Tobin and Jenna Ushkowitz, who remembered Rivera and the affect she had on queer youth in her function on “Glee.”

Lynch recalled when Rivera was first introduced on as a sequence common on “Glee,” considering that she was “cute and an important dancer.” “After which [‘Glee’ co-creator] Ryan [Murphy] began giving her strains, and I used to be like, ‘Wow. This woman is basically one thing.’”

The forged additionally made a degree to pay tribute to the opposite main function in Rivera’s life: being a mom to her son, Josey.

“Naya and I had been good associates on the present,” Morrison mentioned. “However I believe we turned significantly better associates once we each had kids, and to see her put all that power into her son was simply an unbelievable sight to see, and one thing I’ll at all times keep in mind.”

“Her greatest function was her being a mother,” Ushkowitz added. “That was probably the most fulfilling, to see her do this.”

In addition they celebrated the tenth anniversary of Santana’s coming-out storyline on “Glee,” throughout a time the place there was little LGBTQ illustration on tv — particularly when it got here to queer folks of colour.

“That scene when Santana got here out to her grandmother and was rejected, it nonetheless makes me cry,” Lengies mentioned.

Rivera’s mom, Yolanda Previtire, couldn’t attend the tribute, however left a message that was learn by Gilsig.

“Her want was to at all times be an advocate to those that didn’t have a voice,” the message learn, partly. “I don’t imagine that she realized how essential she was to this world. I’m grateful that my eldest daughter helped to vary the panorama of how we view and see one another.”

Watch the total tribute beneath.