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Jennifer Lopez headlined the World Pride Music Festival on Friday
Backed by the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, the singer channeled George Michael and gave love to her LGBTQ+ fans.
Jennifer Lopez brought a message of LGBTQ+ liberation to the "front lawn" of the White House.
"We are singing and dancing right here on their front lawn, misbehaving. Yes, we are," Lopez told the crowd Friday at the World Pride Music Festival in Washington, D.C. The festival was held at the Festival Grounds at RFK Campus, just miles from the president's residence.
There, Lopez thanked her queer fans for their love. "Over the years, your love and your support have been a source of strength for me and today I am here to celebrate you," she said. "I’m so happy to be able to be here to celebrate community, diversity, love, and freedom."
The theme of freedom was a throughline of Lopez's set, which capped a Friday lineup that included Paris Hilton, Tinashe, Trisha Paytas, and Betto Who. "We all have the right to be who we want to be, the way we want to live, to be the people that we want to be. We have the right to be free. God gave us that right and nobody can take it away," she said.
The capstone of Lopez's set was a cover of George Michael's "Freedom!," where she was backed by the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington (as well as background visuals of LGBTQ+ trailblazers like Marsha P. Johnson). Lopez also debuted her new Pride anthem, "I'm Free." The lyrics included: “I’m free / Free to love whoever I please / You can’t take the heart out of me."
At WorldPride, Lopez also debuted the titular number from her upcoming musical film, Kiss of the Spider Woman, in which a gay man escapes the horrors of an Argentinian prison through fantasies of a movie star. Lopez said it was a "beautiful movie about love and acceptance, impossible circumstances about seeing humanity in one another" and "falling in love, not for who we are on the outside, but for who we are on the inside."
WorldPride DC, an international gathering of LGBTQ+ Pride, marked the 50th anniversary of Pride events in Washington, D.C. The weeks-long celebration included a parade, concerts with headliners like Doechii, Cynthia Erivo, and Troye Sivan, and protests.
Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.
Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.
