71st Annual Tony Awards

The Tony Awards have historically celebrated inclusivity and diversity, and Sunday night’s event was no exception. While honoring 2017’s finest Broadway shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, guests and nominees showed their support for all marginalized communities, who often must face discrimination, hatred, and violence in the current political and social climate. By wearing the ampersand (&) as a symbol of joining the Together movement, Tina Fey, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Groff, and Brian d’Arcy James made the decision to unite against the forces that try to divide us.

The Together movement, initiated by GLAAD, is a site for amplifying and uniting voices and identities that are often silenced in mainstream media or by the current administration. Because every single one of us embodies intersecting identities, the ampersand (&) represents unity and support for all communities that are under attack, including (but not limited to) Muslim, immigrant, and LGBTQ communities. Additionally, since this year’s Tony Awards occurred on the same day as meaningful equality marches drew crowds worodlwide, nominees and winners stood in solidarity with those marching by sporting the pin. Indeed, this is a critical time to come together for equality and resist intolerance.

Goddess @CynthiaEriVo arriving at the #Tonys red carpet. pic.twitter.com/2iEWiQZX88

— Wear Your Voice Mag (@WearYourVoice) June 11, 2017

Stage actress and Broadway icon Cynthia Erivo was seen wearing the ampersand on the belt of her gown on the red carpet at the Tony Awards. At the Tony’s, she performed “New York, New York” with Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr. Erivo is a Tony Award winner herself, earning the 2016 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her role in The Color Purple. She has supported the Together movement in the past, donning the symbol of togetherness at the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles earlier this year, the night she performed a moving tribute to the lives claimed at the attack on Pulse in Orlando.

 

❤️ #LinManuelMiranda #LinManuel #LinMiranda #LinMan #LMM #HamiltonMusical #HamiltonBroadway #HamiltonBway #MaryPoppinsReturns #DuckTales #GizmoDuck #Alvie #JuanAlvarez #JuanAlvieAlvarez #HouseMD #Hamilton #YayHamlet #TheatreNerds #BroadwayNerds #Theatre #StageDoor #NYC #DoNoHarm #RubenMarcado #Musicals #SNL #SaturdayNightLive #TinaFey

A post shared by cinnalin212 (@cinnalin212) on Jun 13, 2017 at 8:41am PDT

 

 

FOMO. #tinafey #mariskahargitay #tonys #tonyawards2017 #thetonys #meangirls #lawandorder

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Tina Fey supported GLAAD, the Together movement, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) while presenting for Best Actor in a Musical.

Jonathan Groff supporting @GLAAD‘s Together Movement at the #TonyAwards2017: t.co/DPX3hTxP7P pic.twitter.com/o0yzprDW4L

— Jonathan Groff Daily (@dailyjgroff) June 11, 2017

Co hosts. #TonyAwards2017 pic.twitter.com/R34nwbU2um

— Brian d’Arcy James (@briandarcyjames) June 11, 2017

Jonathan Groff and Brian d’Arcy James were spotted wearing the ampersand pin while presenting at the event and on the red carpet. Both actors have played King George III in the groundbreaking, smash hit show, Hamilton.

Entertainment Weekly named both Groff and Erivo as among the best dressed in attendance at the Tony Awards. EW referred to Erivo’s dress as “showstopping” and said of Groff:

Jonathan Groff looked sharp in classic black, but it’s the subtle statement on his lapel that really makes this look a winner. The presenter accessorized his suit with an ampersand pin, the symbol of GLAAD’s Together Movement, which signifies solidarity with all communities suffering discrimination.

Additional signs of resistance and togetherness were witnessed at the Tony Awards, especially in many of the winner’s speeches. When accepting the award for Best Actor in a Musical, Dear Evan Hansen”s Ben Platt said, “To all young people watching at home, don’t waste any time trying to be like anybody but yourself, because the things that make you strange are the things that make you powerful.” Cynthia Nixon, who took home an award for her performance in “Lilian Hellman’s The Little Foxes” and is also an out bisexual actress, eloquently quoted writer Hellman, stating, “‘There are people who eat the earth and eat all the people on it, and other people who just stand around and watch them do it.’ My love, my gratitude and my undying respect go out to all the people in 2017 who are refusing to just stand and watch them do it. Thank you.”

The ampersand pin was first debuted at a solidarity rally in New York City earlier this year. The New Yorker took note, calling it the symbol that “best captured the spirit of the day, and the great diversity of the crowd and speakers.” Since then, the ampersand pin has been seen at the Academy Awards, the MTV Movie & TV Awards, the Independent Spirit Awards, and the GLAAD Media Awards. This representation of inclusive solidarity has caught the eyes of leading media outlets, including Seventeen, Vanity Fair, Entertainment Tonight, Broadway World, Marie Claire, and more that deemed the wearable statements an integral fashion staple.

GLAAD thanks everyone who shows up and stands up in solidarity with marginalized communities and people, and who calls for togetherness by wearing the “&” on platforms such as the Tony Awards and in their own personal lives. Together, #WeResist. Together, we persist. Together, we prevail.