Taylor Swift accepted the grand award for special or variety TV for folklore: the long pond studio sessions at the 2021 Gracie Awards, which streamed online Tuesday night.
Presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation, the Gracie Awards “honors exemplary programming created by, for and about women,” according to the organization.
Besides thanking her collaborators, including Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, for their work on the Grammy-winning folklore and the accompanying Disney+ concert film, the superstar expressed her gratitude to the health care professionals on site who ensured the project was COVID-safe during production.
Before signing off, Swift gave the biggest thank you to her fans. “Thank you for caring about all of this. Thank you for being the reason why we could come together in this way. You made this album what it is. And you continue to just blow me away all the time,” the singer shared in the speech.
Other 2021 Gracie Awards honorees included Kelly Clarkson for her eponymous talk show and former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama for their respective podcasts, You and Me Both With Hillary Clinton and The Michelle Obama Podcast.
Newcomers were recognized as well. Nineteen-year-old Maitreyi Ramakrishnan took the award for actress in a breakthrough role – comedy for her lead role in Mindy Kaling’s Netflix sitcom Never Have I Ever.
Executive produced by Vicangelo Bulluck, the awards ceremony was hosted by Canadian actor/comedian Lauren Ash. It featured performances by Jewel and gospel singer CeCe Winans.
For more information, visit Alliance for Women in Media’s website.