Dolly Parton welcomed viewers and listeners to the second annual “Can’t Cancel Pride” virtual relief benefit for the LGBTQ+ community Friday night before Troye Sivan with Tate McRae and Regard took the stage to kick off the event with a performance of their song, “You.”
Produced by iHeartMedia and Procter & Gamble, the one-hour benefit hosted by Elvis Duran and Bebe Rexha brought together many of today’s biggest names in culture and entertainment and included performances from Rexha, Brothers Osborne, Hayley Kiyoko, Jasmine Mans, JoJo Siwa, Kylie Minogue, Leslie Odom Jr., P!NK, Regard, Tate McRae, Troye Sivan, Olly Alexander from Years & Years and Yola.
The benefit streamed on the Roku Channel and Revry, iHeartRadio’s TikTok, YouTube and Facebook, iHeartRadio’s PrideRadio.com, on iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and the iHeartRadio app
Before performing her song "Hold On," Yola had a message for viewers: “Here’s to love, resilience and to an era of safety, equality and peace.”
In a special candlelight moment to remember the five-year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre and the lives that were lost, Leslie Odom Jr. performed “Without You.” Before introducing the Pulse nightclub candlelight tribute, Ricky Martin spoke about hate: “With all the progress we made since the 1969 Stonewall rebellion, we cannot ignore that too many hearts remain full of hate.” He continued, “But tonight, we’re here to out-love hate. We stand strong, and together we call on the power of music to heal and give us hope.”
In addition, the entire show sought inspiration from the letters in PRIDE symbolizing: Power & Purpose, Respect & Relationships, Individuality & Intersectionality, Dance & Defy, and Equality & Everybody.
“Can’t Cancel Pride” partnered with the Greater Cincinnati Foundation to administer and distribute financial support raised by the event to LGBTQ+ organizations including GLAAD, SAGE, The Trevor Project, the National Black Justice Coalition, CenterLink and OutRight Action International. To raise money for the six participating nonprofits, iHeartMedia will partner with Cameo and participating talent from June 4-11 and donate a portion of proceeds from the personalized videos to benefit the "Can't Cancel Pride" fund.
In addition to music, the benefit included special appearances from Brandi Carlile, Busy Phillips, Demi Lovato, Dolly Parton, Elton John, Gus Kenworthy, Jennifer Hudson, Karamo Brown and Tan France from Queer Eye, Lil Nas X, Marshmello, MJ Rodriguez, Nina West, Pete and Chasten Buttigieg, Ricky Martin and others, with support from brands including P&G, Allē by Allergan Aesthetics, Dawn, General Motors, The Art of Shaving and GilletteLabs, Bounty, Charmin, Jared, Puffs, Downy, Tide, Olay, and Tito’s Handmade Vodka.