‘Entertainment Weekly’ Pride Issue celebrates LGBTQ storytellers, enduring icons, and Hollywood history

For its June issue, which is usually dedicated to LGBTQ Pride, Entertainment Weekly decided to do something different for its cover – and that is to “pay tribute to the central role LGBTQ artists have had in Hollywood from its very beginnings.”

The magazine ordered an illustration of a party featuring 18 past and present LGBTQ stars. “The cover — and indeed our entire Pride cover package —was created in collaboration with LGBTQ illustrators in an effort to make the Pride experience richer for folks stuck in their homes,” EW editor JD Heyman wrote in a post.

The magazine calls it “the kind of bash we’d all dream of going to”, and as illustrated by London-based artist Jack Hughes, it pays tribute to Hollywood figures, juxtaposing legends of the past (like Freddie Mercury and Rock Hudson) with stars of today (like Elton John, Ru Paul, Ryan Murphy, Ellen DeGeneres and Janelle Monáe) and a rising new generation of talent (like Lil Nas X and Kate McKinnon).

Top row, from left: Janelle Monáe, Freddie Mercury, Kate McKinnon, Ricky Martin, John Waters, Dan Levy; Middle row, from left: Ellen DeGeneres, Rock Hudson, Laverne Cox, Lily Tomlin, Kristen Stewart, Lil Nas X, George Takei, Ryan Murphy, Cynthia Nixon, Marlene Dietrich; Bottom row, from left: RuPaul, Elton John.

“As an LGBTQ+ artist, I know how important representation in the media is,” Hughes says of the issue which also includes interviews with showrunner Greg Berlanti and singer Hayley Kiyoko.

“The fight isn’t over,” Hughes says of the inspiration he hopes people take from the cover, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We must carry on the work of those before us.”