Musicians Chappell Roan, Orville Peck and Melissa Etheridge; actors Jonathan Bailey and Laverne Cox; and tennis legend Billie Jean King are the six LGBTQ+ icons who are set to be honored at the 2026 Elton John Impact Awards, which will launch June 1 as a podcast series on the iHeartRadio app and everywhere podcasts are heard and as an audio special airing across iHeartRadio PRIDE stations.
Created by iHeartMedia and Procter & Gamble, and hosted by Billy Porter and iHeartRadio’s Elvis Duran, the Elton John Impact Awards celebrate trailblazing LGBTQ+ community members and prominent allies, while also giving back to LGBTQ+ organizations. The special will feature candid conversations with Elton John; his husband, David Furnish, chair of the Elton John AIDS Foundation; and this year’s honorees. Dove Cameron will perform John’s 1970 breakthrough hit “Your Song.”
“I’ve always believed in the power of storytelling to connect us and challenge us,” John said in a statement. “These conversations bring together the people who have shaped LGBTQ+ culture and fought for dignity at a time when the world too often looked away. Some are friends who stood beside me through the AIDS crisis, others are carrying the torch forward with the new generation. Hearing their stories and reflecting on how far we’ve come, and how far we still have to go, is deeply humbling. This is history that cannot be forgotten and these are voices that must be heard.”
The Elton John Impact Award was first introduced in 2022 at “Can’t Cancel Pride,” a virtual benefit concert launched by iHeartMedia and Procter & Gamble. John was its inaugural recipient in recognition of his decades-long advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights and the fight to end AIDS. Since then, the award has honored trailblazers including Brandi Carlile and Porter, evolving into the Elton John Impact Awards podcast series. Over the course of five years, Can’t Cancel Pride raised over $17 million for LGBTQ+ nonprofits.
The Elton John Impact Awards, which bills itself as the first-podcast awards ceremony, recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the LGBTQ+ community. This year’s honorees are:
Jonathan Bailey, 38: Film, television and stage actor who launched The Shameless Fund to support LGBTQ+ charities. Bailey received a Primetime Emmy nomination for his performance in Showtime’s Fellow Travelers and a total of four Actor Award nods for Bridgeton and Wicked. Bailey is People’s reigning Sexiest Man Alive – a huge step forward for representation.
Laverne Cox, 53: A four-time Primetime Emmy nominee for outstanding guess actress in a drama series for Orange Is the New Black, and a two-time Actor Award winner for that same series. Cox has elevated transgender visibility in mainstream media and remains a powerful voice for equality and inclusion.
Melissa Etheridge, 64: Two-time Grammy winner for best female rock vocal performance (“Ain’t It Heavy” and “Come to My Window”) and an Oscar-winning songwriter (“I Need to Wake Up” from An Inconvenient Truth). Etheridge has used her platform to champion LGBTQ+ rights for decades through personal storytelling within her music and cultural advocacy.
Billie Jean King, 82: Sports and women’s rights icon and humanitarian who has spent her life advocating for gender and LGBTQ+ equality in and out of sports.
Orville Peck, 38: Trailblazing country performer who uses his artistic persona to blend traditional country aesthetics with queer themes and uses his platforms to create visibility and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
Chappell Roan, 28: The 2025 Grammy winner for best new artist, who advocates for LGBTQ+ rights with her unapologetic artistry and founding of The Midwest Princess Project to support trans youth.
The program will help drive visibility and funding for a range of frontline organizations working to support the LGBTQ+ community including the Elton John AIDS Foundation. In partnership with Carlile’s Looking Out Foundation, additional funds will be granted to CenterLink, GLAAD, the National Black Justice Collective, Outright International, SAGE and the Trevor Project. Each organization addresses various critical needs across the LGBTQ+ community, such as supporting and advocating for LGBTQ+ elder care, increasing access to preventative health services and treatment, and providing mental health support for young people.
“The Elton John Impact Awards spotlight the vital work of organizations protecting LGBTQ+ communities and advancing health equity around the world,” Furnish said in a statement. “At a time when LGBTQ+ rights and health equity remain under threat globally, investing in organizations on the frontlines has never been more urgent.”
A panel of leaders worked closely with John to select this year’s honorees. Advisory Council members include Furnish; Porter; Carlile; Elton John AIDS Foundation CEO Anne Aslett; P&G’s Brent Miller and iHeartMedia’s John Sykes.
Charitable foundation partners of this year’s event include the Elton John AIDS Foundation and The Looking Out Foundation.
Since it was founded in 1992, the Elton John AIDS Foundation has provided support and care for the LGBTQ+ community and tackled the stigma that stands in the way of ending AIDS. Since 2020, the Foundation has awarded more than 55 grants and invested over $23 million in programs across 47 countries. The Looking Out Foundation is a nonprofit organization which has supported humanitarian causes for over two decades. For more information visit
