Every day during the month of June, we will be spotlighting our 2021 Logo30. This powerful series profiles ordinary and extraordinary people who show pride in unique and provocative ways. Visit the Logo30 homepage to view current and past honorees.

Kalen Allen has gone from watching cooking videos online to commanding the stage of Ellen DeGeneres's talk show.

After DeGeneres became a fan of Allen's YouTube videos, she invited him onto The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He eventually became a returning guest, DJ, and correspondent, covering events like New York Fashion Week and the MTV Video Music Awards for the daily chatfest. He even sat in DeGeneres's chair earlier this year when he guest-hosted her talk show, interviewing Kelly Rowland and Pose's Angelica Ross.

Thanks to help from one of daytime talk's biggest names, Allen's career is on an upward trajectory. He plans to leverage his platform to help other queer people, telling Logo he expresses his Pride by using his work "as a means of representation and visibility."

"That means giving opportunities and giving jobs and opening up my platforms for queer voices to be able to amplified," he explains, adding that queer voices of color definitely deserve "more amplification."

"Oftentimes, our white counterparts are given the accreditation or the attention or the platforms that we deserve," Allen says. "I know I come from a place of privilege where I am, and that is why I say that everything I do is done with the purpose of representation and visibility so one day instead of always having to beg for a seat at the table, I am able to build the table and give them the platform."

Learn more about Allen and the rest of our inspiring 2021 Logo30 honorees in the video below.