The longtime advocate for LGBTQ rights was awarded for her commitment to promoting equality, acceptance and understanding for the LGBTQ community throughout her career.

Oprah has frequently used her platform to highlight social issues, including LGBTQ rights.

Oprah Winfrey showed off her slimmed-down physique in a chic black and purple blazer dress at the 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards in Beverly Hills on Thursday

The talk show mogul, 70, looked radiant as she received the GLAAD Vanguard Award at the ceremony, held at The Beverly Hilton

In 1997, she famously interviewed Ellen DeGeneres and gave her the platform to come out as gay, helping normalize LGBTQ visibility in the mainstream media.

‘When Oprah speaks, the world listens and our community cherishes her as an unapologetic ally, especially to transgender people. Winfrey’s commanding career will forever align her on the right side of history,’ GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement on Thursday.

She also called her a ‘beacon of hope and inspiration for the LGBTQ community for decades. Her groundbreaking work in media has not only entertained and informed millions of people around the world, but it has also helped to change hearts and minds and promote greater understanding and acceptance for our community.’

Oprah was presented the award by long-time friends Chilli Pepper and Paolo Presta.

At the ceremony Niecy Nash-Betts also received the Stephen F. Kolzak Award, presented by Sharon Stone. The night also featured special performances from Chlöe and Kate Hudson.

While out in Hollywood this week Oprah showed off her dramatically slimmed-down waistline in a cinched-in orange outfit. The star, whose weight has famously fluctuated over the years, was headed into a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

At the moment, she is in the midst of a publicity whirlwind for her upcoming documentary about people who use weight loss drugs.

After being trailed by rumors that she was on Ozempic, Oprah herself admitted last year that she has fallen back on medication to shed the pounds.

During her latest public appearance, she flaunted the results of the treatments in a skintight sweater worn under a crop turtleneck.

Her tresses were curled into bouncy locks, and she accessorized with silver earrings and her signature round eyeglasses

Oprah was presented the award by Chilli Pepper

The longtime advocate for LGBTQ rights was awarded for her commitment to promoting equality, acceptance and understanding for the LGBTQ community throughout her career

Oprah has frequently used her platform to highlight social issues, including LGBTQ rights

‘When Oprah speaks, the world listens and our community cherishes her as an unapologetic ally, especially to transgender people,’ GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement on Thursday

She also called her a ‘beacon of hope and inspiration for the LGBTQ community for decades’

The star spoke onstage as she accepted the honor

In 1997, she famously interviewed Ellen DeGeneres and gave her the platform to come out as gay, helping normalize LGBTQ visibility in the mainstream media; they are seen in a still from the interview

Her talk show appearance come four days before the ABC premiere of her documentary An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution.

Oprah will interview people who have used popular weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, as well as professionals with experience in the field.

‘It is a very personal topic for me,’ said Oprah in a press statement quoted by BET: ‘and for the hundreds of millions of people impacted around the globe who have for years struggled with weight and obesity.’

Over the decades of her superstardom, Oprah has been candid with her fans about the various steps she has taken to lose weight.

Last year she was dogged by rumors she was on Ozempic, the diabetes medicine that has become a Hollywood fad among those attempting to slim down.

As the speculation mounted, Oprah confessed in December that she had relented and started taking weight loss medication – after previously feeling that she had to rely on her own ‘willpower’ to achieve the figure she wanted.

Her size ‘occupied five decades of space in my brain, yo-yoing and feeling like why can’t I just conquer this thing, believing willpower was my failing,’ she told People.

The star, whose weight has famously fluctuated over the years, was also seen in an Instagram snap from Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where she made an appearance on Thursday

When she underwent knee surgery in 2021, her physical rehabilitation helped her develop a number of healthy habits that helped her burn fat.

‘After knee surgery, I started hiking and setting new distance goals each week. I could eventually hike three to five miles every day and a 10-mile straight-up hike on weekends. I felt stronger, more fit and more alive than I’d felt in years,’ she gushed.

‘I eat my last meal at 4 o’clock, drink a gallon of water a day, and use the Weight Watchers principles of counting points,’ added the television icon, who at that point was still on the board of directors of Weight Watchers.

As for the drugs, she said: ‘I had an awareness of medications, but felt I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. I now no longer feel that way.’