GLAAD, the lesbian gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy organization of the United States, was founded in 1985 and this year it was the 26th Annual GLAAD Media Awards ceremony. The ceremony was one of several held by GLAAD each year honoring media for fair, accurate and inclusive representation of the LGBT community and the issues that affect their lives.
GLAAD Media Awards nominees are selected using the following four criteria:
Fair, Accurate and Inclusive Representations – Rather than portraying the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in broad stereotypes, the project deals with the characters or themes in a fair, accurate, and multi-dimensional manner. Inclusive means that the diversity of the LGBT community is represented.
Boldness and Originality – The project breaks new ground by exploring LGBT subject matter in non-traditional ways and handles the LGBT content in a fresh and original manner.
Impact – The project has significant cultural impact. The media project dramatically increases the cultural dialogue about LGBT issues, or reaches an audience that is not regularly exposed to LGBT images and issues.
Overall Quality – A project of extremely high quality adds significance to the images and issues portrayed and draws more viewers or readers to the material. Fair, accurate and inclusive images may be weakened when they are part of a poor-quality project.
The event had many celebrities in the crowd and on stage like Viola Davis
(How To Get Away From Murder), Murray Bartlett (Looking), Patricia Arquette
, Days of Our lives boys Guy Wilson
, Freddie Smith
and Christopher Sean
, Wilson Cruz
, Tyler Oakley
, Ellen Degeneres
, Channing Tatum
, Gregg Sulkin
and Rita Volk
(Faking it), Mike Mosley
, Kevin Daniels
and Kevin Bigley
(Sirens) and Jordan Gavaris
(Orphan Black).
Ellen DeGeneres presented Kerry Washington with
GLAAD’s Vanguard Award tonight at the 26th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.
Channing Tatum presented out film director Roland Emmerich with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award.
Here is the complete list of GLAAD Media Award winners who were announced last Saturday the 21st of March in Los Angeles:
Vanguard Award: Kerry Washington
Stephen F. Kolzak Award: Roland Emmerich
Outstanding Film – Wide Release: The Imitation Game
(The Weinstein Company)
Outstanding Drama Series: How to Get Away with Murder 
(ABC)
Outstanding Comedy Series: Transparent 
(Amazon Instant Video)
Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series without a regular LGBT character): “Identity Crisis” Drop Dead Diva
(Lifetime)
Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series: The Normal Heart 
(HBO)
Outstanding Music Artist: Against Me!, 
Transgender Dysphoria Blues (Xtra Mile Recordings)
Outstanding Daily Drama: Days of Our Lives 
(NBC)
Outstanding Comic Book: Rat Queens
, written by Kurtis J. Wiebe (Image Comics)
Outstanding Digital Journalism Article: “31 Days of PrEP” 
[series] (Advocate.com)
Outstanding Blog: Autostraddle
(autostraddle.com)
GLAAD previously announced that it was acknowledging BioWare’s hit video game Dragon Age: Inquisition
and the song “Era Diferente” by the legendary Mexican band Los Tigres del Norte with Special Recognition Awards. FOX’s Glee also received a Special Recognition Award, following the series finale. For six seasons, Glee has consistently introduced groundbreaking LGBT characters and storylines, including a recent episode that featured a 200-person transgender choir.
Joe Earley, Chief Operating Officer at Fox Television Group, accepted the award on behalf of the show.The evening featured a musical performance by Glee star Alex Newell that earned him a well-deserved standing ovation. There were also appearances by Zoe Saldana
, Andrew Rannells
, Portia de Rossi, and “Looking” stars Murray Bartlett
and Daniel Franzese
.
The most memorable moment of the evening was the outstanding speech of “Scandal” star Kerri Washington after receiving the Vanguard Award which is given each year to a high-profile straight ally from Ellen Degeneres. In presenting to Scandal star Washington, DeGeneres said ‘she is not afraid to fight the underdog’ then jokingly added: ‘You didn’t hear it from me but I saw her at Dinah Shore weekend – I’m pretty sure it was her.” Kerri Washington brought the crowd to its feet at the end of her powerful speech.
CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners from Pink In Our Lives and myself.
Have a great day and like GLAAD rewritten the script for LGBT acceptance and create a world where everyone can live the life they love. Follow us for more on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram. Keep sharing, liking and making our message known to the world. Big kiss Lesley Middleton