The network thanked the brave men and women for risking their lives to protect their fellow U.S. citizens.
- Aug 28, 2017
AceShowbiz - MTV continues to show support for LGBTQ+. After changing Moonman into more gender-neutral Moon Person, the network honored transgender military members at the 2017 VMAs, which was held on Sunday night, August 27 in Inglewood, California.
The network thanked the brave men and women, including Air Force Airman First Class Sterling James Crutcher, Air Force Staff Sergeant Logan B. Ireland, U.S. Army Captain Jennifer Peace, Navy Corpsman Petty Officer 3rd Class Akira Wyatt, Army veteran Laila Ireland and Former Navy Lt. Commander Brynn Tannehill, for risking their lives to protect their fellow U.S. citizens.
"MTV has invited transgender members of the U.S. Armed Forces to the 2017 Video Music Awards and we would be honored if they could attend," MTV president Chris McCarthy said in a statement. "Any patriot who is putting their own life at risk to fight for our freedom and stand for equality is a hero at MTV, and to young people everywhere."
The official Twitter account for the award-giving event posted a photo of the troops, four of whom are active duty members, on the red carpet. "PROUDLY welcoming our troops to the #VMAS red carpet," it wrote in the caption.
PROUDLY welcoming our troops to the #VMAS red carpet 💪🏽🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/u02yIA3iBA
— Video Music Awards (@vmas) August 27, 2017
MTV Look Different also took to Twitter to share another photo of them. Seemingly taken at the backstage, the photo saw the troops smiling while posing for the camera. "@jackantonoff's 'they make us stronger' shirt. #notransban #VMAs," it wrote.
💯💯💯 @jackantonoff's "they make us stronger" shirt. #notransban #VMAs pic.twitter.com/cYWptwGaRn
— MTV Look Different (@LookDifferent) August 27, 2017
Wyatt previous said in a statement to Billboard, "It is such an honor and I'm so happy to be able to represent the community of trans service members." Peace added, "Our nation stays safe because we have the best and brightest defending it. So I hope that people who are watching [the VMAS] see it and think, 'Hey, if we're excluding these individuals who are qualified and capable to serve, and we're kicking them out--and we're not filing new people into the service solely based on them being transgender, and not based on their potential, are we as safe as we should be?' "
It comes after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. government "will not accept or allow" transgender people to serve "in any capacity" in the military. "Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory," he wrote in a series of a tweets. "And cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail."
