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Troy Masters, publisher of the LGBTQ+ news outlet Los Angeles Blade and a leading figure in queer media, died suddenly on Wednesday at the age of 63.
His death was mourned by celebrities, politicians, artists, and advocates who praised his work for uplifting queer voices and championing LGBTQ+ rights through his pioneering journalism. His family announced his death in a statement published in the Los Angeles Blade on Thursday. The cause of death was not disclosed.
“We are shocked and devastated by Troy’s loss,” the statement said. “He was a tireless advocate for the LGBTQ community and left a tremendous legacy of fighting for social justice and equality.”
Masters founded Gay City News in New York City in 2002. It quickly became a cornerstone of queer news on the East Coast.
In 2017, she became the founding publisher of the Los Angeles Blade, a sister publication of the Washington Blade, the nation’s oldest LGBTQ+ newspaper.
“All of us at the Los Angeles Blade and Washington Blade are heartbroken by the loss of our colleague,” the group said in a statement. “Troy Masters is a trailblazer who championed LGBTQ rights and the best journalism for our community.”
Masters said his passion for LGBTQ+ media was sparked by his experience living in New York City during the height of the AIDS epidemic and watching a friend die.
“What started as just a few HIV-positive friends turned into a tsunami of dying people, and gradually my days were consumed by their desperation and need for help, advice and assistance,” Masters said. he told VoyageLA in a 2018 interview. “At that time, there were few services for people with AIDS, and they relied on networks of friends to lighten their burdens, fight them, care for them, and even bury them.”
The crisis led him to quit his well-paying sales job at PC Magazine to work for a gay and lesbian magazine called OutWeek. There, he discovered a large community of people on the front lines of the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement and discovered his calling.
He devoted his time to publishing articles about advancing HIV research, speeding the approval of HIV drugs, and fighting for increased violence against the LGBTQ+ community.
In 2015, he became increasingly concerned about the lack of queer publications serving Southern California’s growing LGBTQ+ community. He looked to relocate to the Golden State and two years later led the successful launch of the Los Angeles Blade, an online and print news publication.
The announcement of his sudden death shocked the Southern California queer community, where Masters had become a beloved and respected figure.
LGBTQ+ advocate and state Rep. Rick Chavez Zubru (D-Los Angeles) said in a statement that he was “deeply saddened to hear of Troy Masters’ passing.” “He has been a pillar of the LGBTQ+ community in a variety of roles, highlighting life in our community and the challenges of the fight for civil rights and social justice.”
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said in a statement on I admired it.
Journalist and cultural commentator Jasmine Cannick said she was heartbroken by the death of Masters, whom she considered a personal mentor and friend.
“Over the years, he has supported my work, giving me space and voice as a columnist and reporter for the Blade newspaper when it mattered most,” she told X. “Troy understood the importance of covering the Black LGBTQ+ community” and made sure to ask me what stories they needed to tell.
“The void he leaves behind is deep,” she added. “But the community is better because of his dedication.”
For now, Los Angeles Blade editor Giselle Palomera will assume leadership of the paper.
Masters is survived by his mother, Josie Kirkland, and sister, Tammy Masters. His family said they plan to announce details of a celebration of his life in the near future.
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