At the 2015 GLAAD Gala San Francisco, Jussie Smollett, star of FOX's hit show Empire, surprised the audience and performed with Grammy-nominated artist and Selma star Ledisi.

Smollett also appeared on stage during the show to introduce #BlackLivesMatter activist DeRay Mckesson, saying: "He is a black man, he is a gay man, and his voice is changing the world."

The GLAAD Gala San Francisco honors innovators in the Bay Area who advance LGBT acceptance through tech and new media and also funds GLAAD's national advocacy work to rewrite the script to accelerate acceptance.

A photo posted by @glaad on Nov 8, 2015 at 7:55pm PST