Oprah Winfrey remembers her late brother who lost his life to AIDS

Oprah Winfrey shares she wanted his brother to live to 'witness these liberated times'

At the 35th GLAAD Media Awards, Oprah Winfrey accepted the Vanguard Award on behalf of her brother Jeffrey Lee.

Winfrey broke down in tears as she spoke about Lee, who passed away from AIDS in 1989 at the age of 29, during her acceptance speech at the ceremony on Thursday night.

"Many people don't know this, but 35 years ago, my brother, Jeffrey Lee, passed away when he was just 29 years old from AIDS. Growing up at the time we did, in the community we did, we didn't have the language to understand or speak about sexuality and gender in the way we do now," said the former talk show host.

"At the time, I didn't know how deeply my brother internalized the shame he felt about being gay. I wish he could have lived to witness these liberated times and be here with me tonight," she continued.

"All the years of the Oprah show for me were about sharing stories that actually helped people be more of their authentic selves and I know that that is the truest form of what it means to be free," she said. 

"To have personal freedom. To be able to fully be who you are. To have the truest expression of yourself as a human being."

As press release released by GLAAD states that Winfrey received the honour due to her "championing allyship and making a significant difference in promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues."