Over the years, it may have looked like I wasn't
the proud gay man
that folk were expecting me to be
but, you know, to me
I was just trying to be my true self
Wow, wow, wow
Thank you very, very much for this award
Man of the Year?
And what a year it has been
We have been separated from our loved ones,
we've been isolated, some of us have spent way too
much time on their own,
and we've had the choice to take into
account the welfare of a stranger
that we may never even meet
Powerful stuff
Man of the year...
why have I been given this award?
well I guess it's to do with what I've
achieved
and what I've done but I also feel it's to do with
how far I've come and where I've come from
so I thought I would
give you a little insight into my background
so I left home at 16
and I know to some people that would
sound very young
but when I was 16 I had a fire in my belly
and a fire in my heart and my soul
a fire that was ignited
by the compulsion to live my life
to find my identity
and to be the most
authentic version of myself
I could be
At times, yeah, it was terrifying leaving everyone
and everything I knew to find a new group of friends
and to discover a community that I could feel a
part of
I moved to London
and I went to college in London
and that was the city that gave me that
As a gay teenager
with my mates on a Friday evening
we would venture into Soho
and my eyes would pop out of my skull
at the different sights that I would see
The beautiful, the scary, the sexy
and the sheer unadulterated
show-offs that would frequent
that place
I'd finally found my people in all colours of the rainbow
And I knew that I was not alone
Over the years, it may have looked like
I wasn't the proud gay man
that folk were expecting me to be
but you know
to me I was just trying to be my true self
and doing it my way and being honest and
true to the people that I loved
I was trying to cut my own path and
cutting your own path means that you're
not walking someone else's
and in doing so I hope that I provided
hope to gay people young and old
around the world who may not have been
able to come out or struggle with it
or maybe in a part of the world where
it's illegal
or if by coming out they would be in danger
or maybe it's family pressures that have
stopped them from living their true life
I hope that my journey can provide them
with some hope
that they can see there are millions of people
all around the world that are just like them
and that they are not alone
You know, people are often shocked
when they discover that the actor who
played the bad guy in 'Fast in the Furious'
who had the big fight sequence
with The Rock and Vin Diesel
is actually gay
wow
or that the narcissistic chauvinistic
womaniser from 'Beauty and the Beast'
was played by a gay guy
Well, here's some news: who we are
and what we are and who we love
has absolutely no effect or influence
on our abilities, our ambitions and our talents
Let me tell you I've met actors, CEOs, teachers,
carpenters, train drivers, leaders of countries,
musicians, fashion designers,
the list goes on and on and on
I'm so proud to be part of a community
that is full
of the most intelligent, passionate,
creative, brave, strong
human beings
because you know what
at the end of the day
it's what we are
we're human being all doing our bit
So thank you,
thank you very much for this award
I wish that I could be with you guys in London
and I wish we could all be at that party
getting dizzy on the Champagne and the glamour
but sadly, we can't do that this year
So, until then
I wish you all the very best and to look after yourselves
and to love one another
take care
Hello, I'm Russell Tovey
Hit like and subscribe to see more from Attitude
I've been Tom Allen and will continue to be so
Thank you for keeping me company on an
evening that might well
otherwise have been quite lonely
Please do support the Attitude Magazine Foundation
and its LGBTQ causes
whenever and wherever you can
the details are on screen
one more time now
To play us out with a
headline performance to rock your world
and everything in it
so maybe move the glassware and small children to a place
of safety
I will leave you with the whirlwind that
is the brilliant
Yungblud
Good night
Attitude Awards!
This is a song about a person I love!
love
[Music]
So I can go scroll
mouth
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
is
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
2020 make some [ __ ] noise at home
oh i wish we we were together right now
we will be loud we'll be [ __ ] proud
we'll be noisy
this next song is called cotton candy
and it's about
[Music]
sex
[Music]
so you remember me darling
[Music]
is
between your
[Applause]
[Music]
oh
are you
[Music]
myself
me
[Music]
[Applause]
but we're all gonna be alright i promise
i couldn't sleep at this time i got
jesus
i can't think i can't lie i feel
anxious all the time if i smiled i would
be
[Music]
let's go
[Music]
he'll be all right
but this sun
everybody worried about the things that
when you are sick
[Music]
is
[Music]
look after each other spread the love
be who you are goodnight
you