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Blakely Thornton
Brecht Vant Hof
Disruptors

Blakely Thornton

Meet some of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.

Blakely Thornton describes himself as a “pop culture anthropologist,” entertaining his considerable digital audience (131k followers on TikTok) with hilarious takes on fashion, celebrities, and more. His videos end with his signature signoff: “Roll credits.” The catchphrase has become so popular that Monica Lewinsky told him she hopes Kamala Harris says it when she wins the presidency in November.

Thornton will appear in an upcoming OutTV series OFFSHOOT, and his podcast Immediately No is coming in 2025. “I think all aspects of culture, whether highbrow or lowbrow, are connected,” Thornton says.

In the age of influencers, attention can be lucrative but also distracting; Thornton says his biggest challenge is remaining himself as the noise around his work increases. But he has ways of keeping grounded. “I got back to my personal mantra: I’m very Black and very gay, I want those who are either of those things to feel more comfortable being them, and those who experience either one of those things to be more comfortable around them,” he says. @blakelythornton

Natalie Wynn
Anonymous
Disruptors

Natalie Wynn

Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.

Anonymous

Known to fans as ContraPoints, Natalie Wynn amassed 1.83 million YouTube subscribers by creating what she says are “video essays about politics and social issues, from online hate movements to the madness of J.K. Rowling.”

The transgender lesbian influencer makes epic, hours-long video essays that approach topics with academic rigor while creating hilarious and profound pieces of media that involve sets, costumes, ambient lighting, and the intellectual threading of philosophy with pop culture. This year, Wynn released a three-hour-long video where she “mapped the intricate depravities of heterosexual fantasy by studying The Twilight Saga.” In six months, the video amassed 4.5 million views.

However, being continually online has its pitfalls. “My biggest obstacle is the mental illness that afflicts anyone with an online reputation,” she says. “The love and the hate are equally dangerous. Narcissism and paranoia go together. The only cure is knowing when to step away.”

Wynn, an essential voice for her generation, wants the world to know that “LGBTQ+ people are just like everybody else, except more gay.” @contrapoints