Céline Dion, k.d. lang, Tegan and Sara pen love letters to the LGBTQ community
The series also features letters by Barbra Streisand, Britney Spears, Elton John, Selena Gomez and many more.
The month of June marks LGBT Pride Month, an event that was first created in the U.S. to commemorate the Stonewall Riots in 1969 and has since spread around the world — and now online in a series of love letters.
To mark the occasion, Billboard has created a series called "Love Letters to the LGBTQ Community," and they're penned by some of the biggest names in entertainment, among them Barbra Streisand, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Elton John, Leona Lewis, Selena Gomez, Sean Hayes, Sia and many more.
Several Canadian superstars including Céline Dion, Tegan and Sara and k.d. lang also penned heartfelt tributes.
"LGBTQ people are vibrant, beautiful, vast and valuable," reads part of the letter by Tegan and Sara. "Taking the time to show up and stand with our fellow LGBTQ friends, families and community members, as well as our allies, is how we continue to reflect to the world how wonderful we all are!
"While we are living in challenging and sometimes scary times, the experience of spending time with many leading LGBTQ organizations and activists in this country has continued to give us confidence in the future."
In her letter, Quebec megastar Dion talks about how, just like music, love has no barriers, and how appreciative she is of the LGBTQ musicians, producers, songwriters, colleagues and fans who have helped her along the way.
"All of you have made such a positive impact on my life, and I hope and pray that our world will continue to better understand that acceptance and tolerance are virtues that we can never have enough of. For now, I join each and every one of you in this year's celebration of Pride, sending you all my love and wishing you peace and happiness today, tomorrow... and well beyond."
The letter by k.d. lang, a longtime Buddhist, is simple and spare.
"We flow. Continually," she writes. "Becoming a beautiful diverse current that winds its way toward an ocean of human equanimity and openness. Every single one of us contributing to the flood.
"I'm proud to be by your side in this great melt."
Read all of the letters here.
— Jennifer Van Evra, q digital staff