Last Saturday night in New York, Broadway was, well, even gayer than usual when the 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards came to Time Square. The red carpet was filled with celebrities from the LGBT community and their allies. Glee stars Naya Rivera and Cory Monteith MC’d the event that recognized and honored mainstream media for their "fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives."
Actress Dakota Fanning, talk show host Wendy Williams, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, hip-hop icon Russell Simmons, Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir, Jay Manuel and Isis King from America's Next Top Model, actor Cheyenne Jackson and film/theater legend Bernadette Peters were among the celebrities to step out and offer their support to the LGBT community.
One of the highlights of the evening was when film producer and co-founder of Miramax Films, Harvey Weinstein presented Special Recognition Award to 17-year-old activist Katy Butler. The teen gathered more than 400,000 signatures in an online petition to pressure the MPAA to lower its R rating for the documentary "Bully."
If you had five thousand dollars and a dream you could have had your lips on either of the gala’s hosts. Rivera and Monteith held a kissing auction that put a smooch from each of them up for sale. Monteith ended up kissing Megan Hilty in a Glee meets Smash smooch. And, sorry ladies, Rivera’s smooch went to a dude with generous wallet. Even actor John Stamos inserted himself into the fun, gaining GLAAD an extra five thousand bucks.
The following is a complete of all the GLAAD Award winners:
· Vito Russo Award: Craig Zadan & Neil Meron (presented by Bernadette Peters and John Stamos)
· Special Recognition Award: openly gay 17-year-old anti-bullying advocate, Katy Butler (presented by Harvey Weinstein)
· Outstanding Film- Limited Release: Pariah (Focus Features) [accepted by: Adepero Oduye andKim Wayans]
· Outstanding Reality Program: Dancing with the Stars (ABC) [accepted by: Carson Kressley]
· Outstanding TV Journalism Segment: "Battle Against Bullying" ABC World News with Diane Sawyer (ABC) [accepted by: reporter Josh Elliott]
· Outstanding Magazine Article: TIE: "15th Anniversary of the Passage of the Defense of Marriage Act" (series) by Chris Geidner(Metro Weekly) [accepted by: Chris Geidner]and"Black & Gay in Corporate America" by Carolyn M. Brown(Black Enterprise) [accepted by: Carolyn M. Brown]
· Outstanding TV Movie Or Mini Series: Cinema Verite (HBO)
· Outstanding Talk Show Episode:" Coming Out on the Oprah Show: 25 Years of Unforgettable Guests" The Oprah Winfrey Show (syndicated)
· Outstanding TV Journalism - Newsmagazine: "The 'Sissy Boy' Experiments" Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN)
· Outstanding Newspaper Article: "Led by the Child Who Simply Knew" by Bella English(The Boston Globe)
· Outstanding Newspaper Columnist: Frank Bruni (The New York Times)
· Outstanding Newspaper Overall Coverage: The New York Times
· Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage: The Advocate/Out
· Outstanding Digital Journalism-Multimedia: "Injustice at Every Turn" (ITLMedia.org)
· Outstanding Blog: TIE: Mombian and Towleroad
· Outstanding Music Artist:Lady Gaga, Born This Way (Interscope Records)
· Outstanding Comic Book: Batwoman by J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman(DC Comics)
· Outstanding Los Angeles Theatre: No Word in Guyanese for Me by Wendy Graf
· Outstanding New York Theatre: Broadway & Off Broadway: The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures by Tony Kushner
· Outstanding New York Theatre: Off-Off Broadway: Southern Comfort book and lyrics by Dan Collins, music by Julianne Wick Davis
The 23rd Annual GLAAD Award series will continue in Los Angeles on April 21 and later in San Francisco on June 2.
Photo by Larry Busacca/WireImage for GLAAD
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