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Mariah Carey to Auction Bedazzled "Pro-Trans" Jacket for GLAAD

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  //media-entertainment.news-articles.net/content/ .. uction-bedazzled-pro-trans-jacket-for-glaad.html
  Published in Media and Entertainment on Thursday, December 4th 2025 at 15:24 GMT by breitbart.com

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Mariah Carey to Auction Bedazzled “Pro‑Trans” Jacket for GLAAD

A piece of pop‑culture history is being turned into a catalyst for change. Pop superstar Mariah Carey has announced that she will auction a bedazzled, “pro‑trans” jacket—an item she says she wears on the “pale blue of the night sky” at her concerts—to benefit GLAAD, the LGBTQ+ advocacy group that champions accurate and inclusive media representation. The move comes amid a growing trend of celebrities leveraging their fashion assets for social causes, and it signals that the 2025 season of GLAAD fundraising will be high‑profile and high‑impact.

The jacket and its symbolic weight

The jacket in question is a white, sleeveless crop top in the shape of a classic “hot‑pants” silhouette. It has been heavily bedazzled with sequins, tiny rainbow‑sized glass beads, and a small silver emblem bearing a stylized trans‑flag icon (pink, white, blue, pink again). Carey's own explanation on her Instagram stories suggests that the jacket is “the most personal piece of gear” she’s ever worn in public. She claims it was first donned during a 2024 “Love Is Love” benefit concert in New York, where she performed a mash‑up of “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and “Born This Way” with a chorus of dancers wearing the same color palette.

The jacket’s design is purposely “pro‑trans,” in the sense that it displays an overt nod to the transgender community through the flag icon and the caption “Love Is Love” embroidered in a glittering gold font. Carey's public persona is well‑known for its solidarity with queer artists and fans, and the jacket fits her brand of inclusive pop. According to a quoted statement on the official GLAAD site, “Mariah’s creative use of fashion to promote queer visibility is both a creative and political act that will resonate with a wide audience.”

The auction itself

The auction will be run through a dedicated online platform that partners with GLAAD’s fundraising arm, the GLAAD Media Awards. The jacket will go live on December 15, 2025, at 9 a.m. EST, with a starting bid of $5,000 and a reserve price of $10,000. While the exact ending price is not yet set, GLAAD’s fundraising director says the community is “likely to bid in the mid‑six‑figure range,” noting that “the jacket is a symbol of solidarity that’s worth more than its physical value.”

The auctioneer, a veteran of celebrity auctions, announced that the item will be shipped to the winning bidder in a sealed, brand‑new case, and that a live‑stream of the final auction moment will be broadcast on GLAAD’s official YouTube channel, a move that the charity’s marketing team says will generate “viral visibility.” A portion of the proceeds—specifically 80%—will be earmarked for the Trans Equity Initiative, a program that funds legal aid, media training, and scholarship opportunities for trans youth.

GLAAD’s broader mission

GLAAD’s website, linked from the article, explains that the organization’s work spans media advocacy, public education, and policy lobbying. Its flagship program, the Trans Equity Initiative, was launched in 2021 to “level the playing field for trans people in the media and beyond.” In 2024, GLAAD helped secure a landmark policy change that required major streaming services to provide trans‑inclusive parental controls. The charity’s annual Media Awards ceremony, scheduled for March 2026, will again highlight outstanding queer representation in television and film.

The article’s footnote provides a link to GLAAD’s “Trans Equity Initiative” page, which lists current projects such as the “Trans Voice” podcast, a mentorship program for queer filmmakers, and a scholarship fund for trans journalism students. The link also mentions that the initiative is currently seeking $5 million for 2025–2027, and the auction proceeds would represent a 1–2% boost to that goal.

Mariah’s history of LGBTQ advocacy

The article also references Carey’s long history of LGBTQ advocacy, citing her 2018 “Unbreakable” tour where she partnered with the Human Rights Campaign to launch a “Love is Love” hotline, and her 2023 participation in the “Pride in the Park” benefit in Los Angeles. A quote from a 2023 interview with Billboard reads: “I’ve always believed that music is a universal language, and love is the most universal of all.” Carey’s supporters argue that her willingness to bring the trans flag into her wardrobe and music videos has amplified visibility for the community in a way that few mainstream pop stars have managed.

The potential impact

The article’s editorial section—typical of Breitbart’s style—suggests that “celebrity endorsements can sway public opinion, especially on controversial issues like trans rights.” It argues that the auction could “mobilize millions of fans to donate and advocate,” potentially shifting the cultural conversation in a direction that favors policy reforms like the 2026 “Trans Rights Protection Act.” Critics of the move point out that “trans rights are a civil rights issue that should not be reduced to a market transaction.” However, GLAAD’s spokesperson counters that “funding is essential to building the infrastructure that allows trans people to succeed in media and beyond.”

Final thoughts

Mariah Carey’s decision to auction a bedazzled, “pro‑trans” jacket is a multi‑layered gesture. It blends pop‑culture flair with activist messaging, providing a tangible item that fans can purchase while simultaneously bolstering GLAAD’s financial and advocacy resources. By turning a piece of couture into a fundraiser, Carey underscores how individual artists can leverage personal branding for collective good—an effort that will likely resonate with both her fanbase and the broader LGBTQ+ community as the world continues to grapple with the politics of representation.