Glee cast to reunite in honor of Naya Rivera

William McKinley High’s New Directions are reuniting! The cast of the iconic show Glee will be coming together at the 32nd GLAAD Media Awards this year. This will be in honor of their former actor co-star, the late Naya Rivera’s character, Santana Lopez. This year marks Santana Lopez’s 10th anniversary of coming out as a lesbian on the show. The GLAAD Media Awards are put on by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in order to recognize and honor representations of the LGBTQ community within the media. The awards are taking place on April 8th at 8:00 P.M. ET on their YouTube channel, or will be available for streaming later on Hulu at 10 P.M. ET.

This Glee reunion will consist of the cast members Jacob Artist, Chris Colfer, Darren Criss, Vanessa Lengies, Jane Lynch, Kevin McHale, Heather Morris, Matthew Morrison, Alex Newell, Amber Riley, Harry Shum Jr., Becca Tobin, and Jenna Ushkowitz. They will also be joined by Demi Lavoto, who played Rivera’s character’s girlfriend on the show, as she will introduce the tribute. Glee has previously won two GLAAD awards back in 2010 and 2011 for Outstanding Comedy Series.

Rivera passed away last summer in California’s Lake Piru on July 8th 2020, after a tragic boating accident. She portrayed the character of Santana Lopez on Glee from 2009-2015, who was a cheerleader and Glee Club member on the show who fell in love with Britney S. Pierce, another cheerleader and Glee Club member and came out as a lesbian. Rivera’s character made a huge impact within LGBTQ teens and for Latinx LGBTQ representation in the media and on television.