Katy Perry, Naomi Watts + More Honored At First-Ever Virtual Gracie Awards

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On Thursday evening, the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF) held its 45th annual Gracie Awards, which, for the first time ever, was a virtual affair due to the pandemic.  This year, the Gracie Awards recognized more than 120 outstanding women and men in media for their bravery, determination and accomplishments, and recognized exemplary programming created by, for and about women.

At the “event,” which was hosted by “This is Us” star Susan Kelechi Watson, Katy Perry received the Gracies Impact Award for the positive influence on society through her music. “This is an incredible honor to have this award about women and helping support women, which is something I am so incredibly passionate about. I love to provide opportunities in my life, professional and personal, for women to do incredible jobs and work alongside with,” Perry said during her acceptance speech, noting that “one of the most important things is to have representation.”

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Country star Mickey Guyton performed her hit song “Heaven Down Here,” and for the first time ever performed “Without a Net,” an original song she had recorded to appear in the upcoming documentary “Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story.”

Tamron Hall accepted her award for Best Talk Show and dedicated it to Breonna Taylor. Gayle King was awarded the Best Special or Variety Program for her memorable interview with R. Kelly and mentioned during her speech that she would “love to sit down with him for another interview again” post-trial. Dr. Sanjay Gupta delivered a Special Award Tribute to frontline journalists bringing COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter coverage to homes across America, including from Norah O’Donnell, Debora Patta, and Martha Teichner from CBS; Kristen Dahlgren, Dasha Burns, Savannah Guthrie, and Blayne Alexander from NBC; CNN’s Brooke Baldwin; Los Angeles Times’ Molly Hennessy-Fiske; Paola Ramos and Isobel Yeung of Vice News.

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The Gracies recognized “Silent All These Years,” an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” that dealt with sexual assault and rape. The episode resonated with women and had far-reaching effects — RAINN reported a 43% uptick in call volume to its National Sexual Assault Hotline in the immediate wake of the airing of this episode.

“Nightline”’s co-anchor Juju Chang accepted their win for Best Hard News Feature for their story about trans women of color. “We wanted to tell the stories of these women who are not only under assault, but who’s stories are often ignored,” Chang said.

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Natasha Lyonne accepted for Best Producer – Entertainment for their Netflix series “Russian Doll,” on behalf of herself, Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler, giving a specific shoutout to Poehler saying, “[she] is such a leader in this field, who has single handedly changed the world and the scope of what we can do, how we hold the space for each other … it is such an honor to walk beside you.”

Naomi Watts won for Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Drama for her portrayal as Gretchen Carlson in Showtime’s “The Loudest Voice.” She dedicated her award to Gretchen for her “incredible bravery and courage” noting it was “an honor” to tell her story.

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Angela Yee won for Best Podcast – Entertainment thanking the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation for the award, expressing “this is one of the highest honors we can have from other women who understand how empowering something like this is.”

Presenters for the awards included Malin Åkerman, Chelsea Gilligan, Angélica Vale; Cassie DiLaura, Erin Lim, Dr. Imani Walker, Elaina Doré Smith, Jacqueline Obradors, Julie Carmen and Medalion Rahimi.

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Additional winners of the night included Danai Gurira of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” for Best Actress in a Leading Role – Drama, Stephanie Beatriz for Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Comedy for her work in FOX’s “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” Fiona Shaw for Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Drama for “Killing Eve,” Niecy Nash for Best On-Air Talent for “Black Girls Rock,” NBC’s “Superstore” won for Best Ensemble Cast with Lauren Ash accepting, and many more.

The Gracie Awards is the largest fundraiser of the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation which supports and promotes educational programs, and scholarships to benefit the media, the public, and allied fields. In addition to giving $20,000 a year away in scholarships to deserving female students, the Foundation also produces the nationally acclaimed recognition program – the Gracie Awards which honors exemplary programming created by, for, and about women.

Photo Credit: Getty Images/Getty Images for Women in Media Foundation