The 'On the Floor' singer, who is honored with the Vanguard Award at the 25th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in L.A., attends the event with boyfriend Casper Smart.
- Apr 14, 2014
AceShowbiz - The 25th Annual GLAAD Media Awards was held on Saturday night, April 12 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. During the event, 12 of 29 awards were handed to the honorees with Ross Mathews serving as the host.
Jennifer Lopez received the Vanguard Award that night, which is given to people whose work has increased the profile and understanding of the LGBT community. The singer, who served as executive producer of ABC Family series "The Fosters" which centers on a lesbian couple rising their children, wore a sparkling blue dress and styled her hair down. She was joined by boyfriend Casper Smart at the show.
"I've always felt a tremendous love from the LGBT community and the LGBT community has always supported me and returned that love," Lopez said after receiving the award from Rita Moreno, as quoted by E! News. She then mentioned her late aunt Marisa who was gay.
"Marisa was my cool aunt. She was my mom's older sister and she lived in New York City. I lived in the Bronx and she lived in Manhattan, it was like worlds away! She wanted to be an actress and I always wanted to be like her. Marisa grew up gay in a time when it meant life could be very difficult and that her struggles were mostly kept to herself," she shared.
In addition to Lopez, Laverne Cox from "Orange Is the New Black" received the Stephen F. Kolzak Award which honors an openly LGBT media professional who has made a "significant difference in promoting equality." Ellen Page, who recently opened up about her sexuality, presented the award to Cox.
"Many of you know that I officially came out on Valentine's Day, and one of the best things that came from that is to publicly show support for the people who I admire and give me courage," the "X-Men: Days of Future Past" star said, as reported by CTV News. "And I'm here to do just that tonight for one of my hero's Laverne Cox."
Besides the stars, other popular names who attended the event included Lupita Nyong'o, Johnny Galecki, Eric Dane, Rebecca Gayheart, Naomi Campbell, Tatiana Maslany and Chaz Bono. Winners of other categories will be honored in a ceremony which takes place on May 3 in New York City.
The 25th annual GLAAD Media Awards Winner List:
- Pioneer Award: Norman Lear
- Vanguard Award: Jennifer Lopez
- Stephen F. Kolzak Award: Laverne Cox, star of "Orange Is the New Black"
- International Advocate for Change Award: Manny de Guerre, founder of the Side by Side LGBT Film Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia
- Documentary: TIE: "Bridegroom" (Virgil Films / OWN) and "Call Me Kuchu" (Cinedigm)
- Drama Series: "The Fosters" (ABC Family)
- TV Movie or Miniseries: "Behind the Candelabra" (HBO)
- Reality Program: "Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce" (Fuse)
- Daily Drama: "Days of Our Lives" (NBC)
- Newspaper Article: "LGBTQ in the Capital" (series) by Melissa Griffiths (Juneau Empire [Juneau, Alaska])
- Digital Journalism - Multimedia: "We Are Here: LGBTI in Uganda" by Sunnivie Brydum, D. David Robinson (Advocate.com)
- Music Artist: Tegan and Sara, Heartthrob (Warner Bros. Records)
- Comic Book: "Young Avengers", written by Kieron Gillen (Marvel Comics)
- Talk Show Interview (Spanish Language): TIE: "Debate por la igualdad" Al Punto (Univision) and "Decision Historica" Sin Limites con Elizabeth Espinosa (CNN en Espanol)
- Local TV Journalism (Spanish Language): "Natalia: rompiendo barreras" Noticiero Telemundo Arizona (KTAZ-39 [Phoenix, Ariz.])
- TV Journalism Segment (Spanish Language): "Decision Historica" Noticiero Telemundo (Telemundo)
- Digital Journalism - Multimedia (Spanish Language): "Eric y Juan, un matrimonio feliz a pesar de todo" by Fernando Mexia (EFE.com)
