Demi Lovato: 'My grandfather was gay'

Pop star Demi Lovato stunned the audience at a prizegiving in New York City on Monday (23Jun13) by revealing her late grandfather was gay.

The Skyscraper hitmaker was among the celebrity presenters at Logo TV's Trailblazers ceremony, which honours those who have championed lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, and took to the stand to announce hit show Orange Is the New Black as the winner of one of the night's awards.

Lovato then shared her own experiences with the LGBT community, explaining how her own grandfather had 'come out' in the 1960s.

She told the crowd, "I've never spoken about this before, but my grandfather was a trailblazer himself. He was brave enough to come out in the 1960s, and I feel that a lot of my spirit has come from him. He passed away a few years later and I only wish he could have been able to see all the progress that has been made.

"It's such an honour to be welcomed and embraced by the LGBT community, so thank you very much."

Others honoured at the event included the NBA's first openly gay player Jason Collins, who was presented an award from pop star Lance Bass, and Ugandan gay rights activist John Abdallah Wambere, who received his prize from rocker Michael Stipe.