All the Cool Stuff that Happened at the GLAAD Media Awards

The 25th Annual GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Awards were held on Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Comedian Ross Matthews hosted the ceremony which honoured those whose work has presented an accurate, inclusive and fair representation of those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex.

The ceremony was the first of two annual ceremonies honouring the winners of the GLAAD Media Awards, the second of which will take place in New York on May 3rd.

A number of high-profile LGBT advocates and allies were in attendance, including award-winning actress and style icon Lupita Nyong’o, iconic singer Jennifer Lopez and everybody’s eternal girl crush Ellen Page. Here’s a round up of some of the highlights of the night:

Jennifer Lopez was given the Vanguard Award, an honour bestowed upon those whose work has improved the understanding and profile of LGBT people. Lopez was chiefly honoured for her work as an executive producer on the ABC Family series ‘The Fosters’, which tells the story of a family with lesbian parents. ‘The Fosters’ also won the award for most outstanding drama series.

In her acceptance speech, the singer spoke of her love for the LGBT community, saying “”I’ve always felt tremendous love for the LGBT community and the LGBT community has always supported me and returned that love.” She also honoured her Aunt Marisa, who she saw as a role model growing up.

“”Marisa [was] gay in a time [when] life could be very difficult, and that her struggles were mostly kept to herself,” Lopez said. “It wasn’t until I got older that I really got to know and appreciate the difficulties that she dealt with and the struggles of her community.”

Check out her speech in full here, alongside her introduction by musical star Rita Moreno:

Speaking of J.Lo being generally excellent, have you seen her video for ‘I Luh Ya Papi’? Because you should. Just saying.

Also honoured was Laverne Cox, star of hit Netflix series ‘Orange is the New Black’, producer of the documentary ‘Free CeCe’, trans* activist and generally flawless human being. She won the Stephen F. Kolzak award, which was named after a casting director and LGBT advocate. The award is given to an openly LGBT media professional who has promoted equality for those of diverse gender and sexuality.

Presenting the award was none other than actor Ellen Page, making her first public speech since she came out in February, looking totally badass in a suit and praising Cox as one of her heroes.

Lesbian pop-rock goddesses Tegan and Sara won Outstanding Music Artist for their latest album, ‘Heartthrob’.

Naomi Campbell also gave a speech about her experiences with LGBT people in the fashion industry, wherein she strutted her stuff and gave a shoutout to Carmen Carrera as a transgender model in the fashion industry.

The other winners were:

• Pioneer Award: Norman Lear (presented by Wilson Cruz)
• Outstanding Documentary: TIE: Bridegroom (Virgil Films/OWN) [accepted by: Shane Bitney Crone and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason] and Call Me Kuchu (Cinedigm) [accepted by: co-directors Katherine Fairfax Wright, Malika Zouhali-Worrall, and Ugandan activist John “Long Jones” Abdallah Wambere]
• Outstanding Drama Series: The Fosters (ABC Family) [accepted by: co-creators Peter Paige and Bradley Bredeweg with stars Sheri Saum and Teri Polo]
• Outstanding Daily Drama: Days of Our Lives (NBC)
• Outstanding Newspaper Article: LGBTQ in the Capital (series) by Melissa Griffiths (Juneau Empire [Juneau, Alaska])
• Outstanding Digital Journalism — Multimedia: We Are Here: LGBTI in Uganda by Sunnivie Brydum, D. David Robinson (Advocate.com)
• Outstanding Music Artist: Tegan and Sara, Heartthrob (Warner Bros. Records)
• Outstanding Comic Book: Young Avengers, written by Kieron Gillen (Marvel Comics)
• Spanish Language Winners:
• Outstanding Talk-Show Interview: TIE: “Debate por la igualdad” Al Punto (Univision) and “Decision Historica” Sin Limites con Elizabeth Espinosa (CNN en Espanol)
• Outstanding Local TV Journalism: “Natalia: rompiendo barreras” Noticiero Telemundo Arizona (KTAZ-39 [Phoenix, Ariz.])
• Outstanding TV Journalism Segment: “Decision Historica” Noticiero Telemundo (Telemundo)
• Outstanding Digital Journalism — Multimedia: “Eric y Juan, un matrimonio feliz a pesar de todo” by Fernando Mexia (EFE.com)

Sophie Joske