I didn't know Jean Smart was a lesbian.
HOLLYWOOD -- from www.sdgln.com - It was like a class reunion for the founders of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) as they invited supporters to join them at the Harmony Gold Theater in Hollywood for the kick off of the organization’s yearlong 25th Anniversary Celebration.
GLAAD was founded in 1985 in New York City as a response to the New York Post's coverage of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Soon after that a Los Angeles division of the organization was established in Los Angeles, where GLAAD worked with film studios and television networks to change the way GLBT individuals were portrayed in the media and popular culture.
“We believe that a world that respects LGBT people doesn’t have room for stereotyped images and insulting humor that degrades us,” GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios told the crowd gathered for the kick-off celebration. “ We believe in the power of our efforts to change how we are depicted. We believe that these efforts have to provide for our dignity and more broadly strengthen the minds of this diverse nation.”
The event featured celebrity presenters that included Ed Begley Jr, Holly Robinson Pete, Jean Smart [pictured], Wilson Cruz, Chas Bono and Amber Heard, who introduced video montages that highlighted notable moments from GLAAD’s work over the past 25 years.
David Weber, the star of "Jeffrey," introduced clips that highlighted the success of the GLAAD Media Awards.
“At the first GLAAD Media Awards there were 20 awards that were handed out and the awards were so successful that they ran over four hours long. No one had ever been publicly recognized for this kind of work so acceptance speeches were long just in case they never got to do the awards again,” Weber said.
The awards have gone on to become one of the major fundraising events for the organization and today all of the major studios are actively campaigning to be a part of the annual event.
Jean Smart, who played Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the hit TV series "Designing Women," was also in attendance. Her show received a GLAAD Media Award at the inaugural event in 1991.
“I’ve been a lesbian since before GLAAD was born,” Smart said as she received a warm welcome from the crowd that packed the theater.
“On the stage, I was very proud of playing the role of Lil in the New York and Los Angeles production of ‘Last Summer at Bluefish Cove.’ That was in 1980 and '81 when there almost were no popular gay characters in the media and it really struck a nerve with the audience because they could see there was a real hunger for people to see themselves and their lives reflected in entertainment.”
Smart went on to point out that when "Designing Women" won its GLAAD Media Award for a single episode titled “Suzanne Goes Looking for a Friend” in the category of Outstanding Portrayal of a Gay or Lesbian Character in an Individual Comedy.
A Founder’s Award was presented to Richard Jennings, a former president and executive director of GLAAD. He talked about his early experiences and how he became involved with the organization after a 1988 march on Sacramento where he met with Art Agnos, who had been a strong advocate for the GLBT community.
“[Art] complained that even though he had always been there for the gay and lesbian community, we hadn’t always been there for him,” Jennings explained. “He sighted in one example a cartoon that ran in the Examiner that showed him being led by the nose by a fairy and the fact that there had been no response to that from the gay community. This statement had a profound effect on me as I realized he was right. Our community lacked and effective media watch and response effort.”
Jennings said he took from that meeting the understanding that GLBT activists were relying on court battles to advance civil rights issues and the community wasn’t doing enough to generate the widespread public support needed to move the legislature along and the courts even further.
A Pioneer Award was also presented to Jonathan Murray of Bunim/Murray Productions, the producers of MTV’s "The Real World," which introduced the world to young out gay people starting back in 1992 with the show’s first season based in New York.
“I’d like to accept this on behalf of the young people who have been cast members on The Real World,” Murray said. “Particularly those gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender cast members. You forget but they are only 21 or 22 years old and their having the courage to live their lives openly.”
GLAAD will continue their 25th Anniversary Celebration with a series of blog posts at GLAADBlog.org that recognize 25 years of GLAAD's culture changing work through the voices of former and current GLAAD staff members and volunteers.
