The inaugural Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter Pride Summit kicked off Thursday (Aug. 8) with an emerging artists panel hosted by Terra Lopez and featuring Bayli, Daya, K. Flay, Parson James and Shea Diamond.
Transgender artist-activist Diamond started off the conversation with a bang when Lopez asked each artist’s pronouns. Instead of going with the standard options, Diamond simply stated, “I am a goddess.”
“Goddess is a representation of not being bound by this thing that they have controlled for so long,” Diamond said. “You know, not male enough or not female enough. I’m beyond that. I’m a goddess.”
Besides drawing attention to the constrictive nature of pronouns, Diamond also advocated for more POC representation in the media.
“Get more black faces on the covers of your magazines. We are worthy and we have worked hard enough to be on the cover of that magazine,” Diamond said. “So, put a little color on your cover.”
The word “Fabulous” embossed on the fan Diamond used throughout the panel could not have been more accurate.