Glee cast to reunite at GLAAD Awards for tribute to Naya Rivera

Demi Lovato, who had a recurring role on the show, will introduce them

Amber Riley, Naya Rivera, and Heather Morris perform at a special taping of the 300th musical performance on ‘Glee’ on 26 October 2011 in Los Angeles, California (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

The cast of Glee is set to reunite to pay tribute to the late Naya Rivera.

Chris Colfer, Darren Criss, Jane Lynch, Kevin McHale, Heather Morris, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Jenna Ushkowitz and more will take part in the event as part of the GLAAD Media Awards on 8 April.

Demi Lovato, who had a recurring role on Glee’s fifth season as the girlfriend of Rivera’s character, Santana Lopez, will introduce the actors.

Rivera died in July 2020 at the age of 33. The actor drowned accidentally in Lake Piru in California.

The tribute will mark 10 years since Rivera’s character, Santana Lopez, came out as a lesbian on the show, GLAAD noted in its announcement. The event will highlight the impact and legacy of the character. Rivera’s portrayal of Lopez has been celebrated for its role in LGBT+ representation on American television.

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The Glee reunion will be broadcast as part of the virtual GLAAD Media Awards ceremony, on YouTube at 8pm ET/5pm PT/1am BST. The ceremony will be available to watch on Hulu from 10pm ET, and will remain available on demand until the end of June.

The tribute will also feature former Glee cast members Jacob Artist, Vanessa Lengies, Alex Newell, Harry Shum Jr, and Becca Tobin.

Lea Michele, who portrayed Rachel Berry on the show, is not included in GLAAD’s announcement.