The 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards, this Saturday, June 2, at the Marriott Marquis, will feature a Who's Who of LGBT and gay-friendly celebrities �" and those who play them on TV. Dianna Agron of Glee will host the event, which will honor Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes, Facebook, and Wells Fargo, with performances by The Voice 's lesbian singer Beverly McClellan and Cirque du Soleil.
Special guests and presenters include Mario Lopez, trans model and People.com editor Janet Mock, MSNBC's out gay newsman Thomas Roberts, Adam Pally of Happy Endings, stage, film and TV star Rita Moreno, hot young cast members of Pretty Little Liars and Days of Our Lives, plus many more.
For those of you who have been living in a cave for the past four years, Dianna Agron just graduated as the cheerleader turned gleek Quinn Fabray on Glee, which features eight LGBT recurring characters.
During a Toronto stop on last year's Glee summer concert tour, Agron set the blogosphere abuzz with questions about her own sexual preference.
"During our second show, instead of wearing my usual shirt during 'Born This Way,' I decided to wear one that said 'Likes Girls.' It should actually have read, 'Loves Girls,' because I do. No, I am not a lesbian, but if I were, I hope that the people in my life could embrace it whole-heartedly."
Although she was born in Georgia, Agron grew up Jewish in San Francisco, which contributed to her liberal outlook on equality for all.
"I was not raised in a family that accepted prejudice or hatred. For that, I thank my Mom and Dad each and every day. I am aware that not all minds meet equally about the rights and respect that we should pay to others," she said. "Recently, I heard a lament about San Francisco. How it just didn't sound like a fun place to be, or visit, because that person wasn't gay. Wait, really? I wanted to laugh! Why won't San Francisco be fun for you? Do you think the whole city is gay? Do you think they will judge you? Perhaps they won't let you have fun, the way they have fun?"
She's also proud to be a part of the gayest show on TV. "Our show celebrates the GLBT community. We're proud to be a part of something that embraces an often-avoided topic. Hate is terrible, especially when we pass it down to a new generation of innocents.
"Sadly, we've gotten letters from people who explain that they love the show but hate the gay story-lines �" that we shouldn't be polluting their children's heads. To this I'd sometimes like to reply, 'Would you also like us to tell them that a stork is dropping off our offspring? That it's not practical to be true to yourself, because there are mean people in this world that will make them feel wrong for being honest? That instead of embracing themselves, they should lie to the world?'"
GLAAD honoree Shonda Rhimes, who created TV's Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and the new series Scandal, has always been dedicated to portraying ethnic and sexual diversity on her shows. She notes the recent, dramatic change in attitudes towards LGBT characters on TV. Rhimes recalled having to go to the mat with broadcast standards and practices at ABC in 2006 to insist on preserving a steamy (fantasy) shower sequence with three female doctors on Grey's Anatomy. But now, six years later, the show includes two lesbian doctors who are married. "Nobody even blinked at the relationship," Rhimes said. The only outcry she recalled came when one of those female doctors flirted with a man. "It was from lesbians who said, 'How dare she sleep with a man!'"
Rhimes also fired back at a fan who tweeted her recently, accusing her of "pandering" to the gay/lesbian community. "Isn't love universal? Isn't that the point?" she said. "That you can watch a straight couple in love or a lesbian couple in love, and what you see and feel is the love? How is that pandering? Maybe I've been pandering to straight couples all this time.
"One of the reasons I cast the show the way I did is because I like to turn on the TV and see people who look like me living in a world of diversity," she said. "I'm betting there's a lesbian girl out there who likes to turn on the TV and see people who love like her, too." Rhimes believes that the bottom line is: "Love is universal. Life is universal. Grow up and stop complaining, and stop hating on a storyline because the characters are different from you. Because that ? Is ridiculous."
When he came out in 2006 while working at CNN, newsman Thomas Roberts (who will present the GLAAD corporate award to Wells Fargo) had to overcome fears that many LGBT people in the media face. "You have fears about acceptance, career limitations and rejection," he said. "It's both real and self-inflicted fear. You can still be fired in the majority of states for being LGBT. But I was at a very content place in my life, and it felt like the right time for me. I can now fully bring myself to my work at all times. I don't have to hide behind a facade. It's important for the next generation coming up to know that you can have a blended, successful life. You can be proud to be yourself."
Roberts knows that others in his profession are still in the closet, and while none have so far asked him for advice, his advice would be: "The waters are safe and it's the best thing I've ever done in my life. I don't regret it for a second. It's important to raise your hand and be accounted for, especially with the President coming out in favor of same-sex marriage. We couldn't have a more ringing endorsement than from the most powerful person in the world."
Obama's historic announcement came at a fortuitous time for Roberts and his partner of 12 years, Patrick Abner. "We were at a New York hotel to look at a space for our wedding [planned for September]. It just felt like the timing was perfect."
23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards, Sat., June 2, 4:30-11 p.m., San Francisco Marriott Marquis, 55 4th St. Tickets: $350 ($250 is tax-deductible) includes cocktail reception & silent auction, dinner, awards show & afterparty. www.glaad.org/mediaawards/sanfrancisco or (212) 219-0111.