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Leslie Jordan (left) was named the legacy grand marshal and Margaret Cho (right) was named the icon grand marshal. | Photos courtesy of Christopher Street West Association
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Comedian Margaret Cho and the late actor Leslie Jordan were named Monday grand marshals of this year’s LA Pride Parade, while the ACLU of Southern California was named the event’s “community grand marshal.”
Cho will serve as the “icon grand marshal,” honoring her years of anti-racism, anti-bullying advocacy and her support of LGBTQ+ rights, according to the Christopher Street West Association, which produces the LA Pride celebration.
“I’m thrilled and incredibly honored to be the Icon Grand Marshal,” Cho said in a statement. “We need this Pride more than ever. I have been attending Pride celebrations since 1978 and this time around the need to celebrate as well as unite is more urgent than it has ever been. Our love is greater than their hate.”
Jordan, who died at age 67 in October when he suffered a heart attack while driving in Hollywood, will serve as the “legacy grand marshal,” a new designation that will “posthumously celebrate those who have made an everlasting impact on the hearts and lives of our community,” according to Christopher Street West. A group of Jordan’s relatives and friends will ride in the parade in a custom vehicle.
“We are overjoyed by Christopher Street West’s heartfelt recognition to name Leslie as LA Pride’s Legacy Grand Marshal,” Jordan’s sister, Jana “Cricket” Jordan, said in a statement. “This honor further solidifies the positive impact he made in the world, but more importantly for the LGBTQ+ community. His spirit continues to bring love and light.”
The ACLU of Southern California was chosen as the community grand marshal to recognize its 100th anniversary “of fighting for LGBTQ+ civil fights.” Organizers of LA Pride noted that the ACLU helped Christopher Street West sue the city in 1970 so it could obtain a parade permit for the first Pride Parade.
“For a century, we’ve been on the front lines fighting for people to be their true, authentic selves,” Hector Villagra, executive director of the ACLU SoCal, said in a statement. “We’re honored to be the Community Grand Marshal and proud to love, live among, and protect LGBTQ Californians.”
The Pride Parade will be held June 11 and will be televised on ABC7. The parade will step off at 11 a.m. at Sunset Boulevard and Highland Avenue in Hollywood, moving north on Highland, then east on Hollywood Boulevard and south on Cahuenga Boulevard, ending at Cahuenga and Sunset.
Earlier this year, Christopher Street West announced that pop superstars Mariah Carey and Megan Thee Stallion will headline this year‘s LA Pride in the Park.
Megan Thee Stallion will perform June 9 and Carey on June 10 at Los Angeles State Historic Park, just north of Chinatown between the Harbor (110) Freeway and the Los Angeles River.
General and VIP single-day ($69) and weekend tickets are available at lapride.org, priced from $69 to $549.
