Mariah Carey to perform at gay rights gala

Platinum selling global megastar Mariah Carey will perform at a gala dinner for America’s biggest LGBT rights group in Los Angeles this Saturday.

“Mariah Carey inspires the world with her incredible voice and amazing talent both on and off the stage,” said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Chad Griffin.

“We are honoured and grateful she will be performing at the 2015 HRC Los Angeles Gala Dinner as we highlight our continued work towards fairness and equality for LGBT people. Her performance is sure to make an incredible evening even more remarkable.”

Mariah Carey is one of the best-selling female artists of all time, with more than 200 million albums sold to date and 18 Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles (17 self-penned), more than any solo artist in history. A five-time Grammy Award winner, she has also won 19 World Music Awards, 11 American Music Awards, and 31 Billboard Music Awards.

At the event, the openly-gay President of Programming at the HBO network, Michael Lombardo, will be recognised with the 2015 HRC Visibility Award.

Lombardo has overseen all of HBO’s and Cinemax’s original programming, including such critically acclaimed series as Game of Thrones, True Blood, Veep, The Newsroom, Girls and Boardwalk Empire, and original films like The Normal Heart.

Golden Globe winner Shonda Rhimes will also be honoured with this year’s HRC Ally for Equality Award.

A Golden Globe award winner, Rhimes was named as one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. She is the creative force behind hugely successful shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How To Get Away With Murder – and regularly includes LGBT characters in her shows.