GLAAD, a non-profit organization of LGBT activism, was founded in 1985 with the mission of promoting fair and accurate media representation of sexual minorities as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination. As an extension of this mission, GLAAD established its annual awards ceremony, the GLAAD Media Awards, in 1990 to recognize fair and accurate representations of LGBT people in the mainstream media.

The 2009 GLAAD Media Awards ceremony was held this year at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Wrestling is proud to bring you a report of the event from a Japanese contributor based in L.A.!

★GLAAD's Official Homepage: www.glaad.org/

Hello TW readers!

Keiko Goto here. This year, on April 18th, I attended the GLAAD Media Awards ceremony at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, so I thought I'd share a report on the event with you all!

Before the ceremony had even begun, I was awed by the list of sponsors. As I watched the surprisingly long stream of sponsor names scroll across the screen not only was I impressed by the number, but I was also struck by the fact that so many internationally known companies were openly backing the event. In fact, several local schools attending the ceremony also had their names prominently displayed for all to see! It's hard to imagine anything along these lines taking place in Japan. Each time a new school name flashed onto the screen, clusters of students would holler and cheer. The ceremony was yet to begin but the crowd was already in the best of spirits.

GLAAD rolled out the red carpet on the roof-top of a building next to the Nokia Theater and media photographers swarmed its length to catch shots of the evening's biggest and brightest stars. Among the Hollywood actors and actresses I spotted giving interviews were Jennifer Beals (Bette from The L Word), arguably the foremost LGBT activist from the stylish Lesbian drama; Greg Grunberg, the popular police officer from the hit American drama Heroes, and the now out and newly-wed George Takei, known for a prolific acting career which includes his days as Sulu on the original Star Trek series.

The ever-popular Beals attracted a slew of questions, and though her time on the red carpet was short, she thoughtfully answered each and every one. Prominent stars of the American gay scene such as out bisexual actor Alan Cumming (Billy in Season 3 of The L Word) and "Milk" screenwriter Dustin Lance Black chatted, drink in hand, inside the tent space reserved for press and attendees to mingle.

I was blown away by the number of American LGBT media organizations there to cover the event. The amount of LGBT media in Japan isn't even remotely comparable!

There was a long stretch of items on display in the venue hall, donated by various sponsors and available for auction. Among the goodies I spotted were a special edition DVD set of The L Word and an autographed script of the show. Fans were excited to start the bidding.

Ellen DeGeneres, out lesbian comedian and host of the popular talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, received the award for Outstanding Talk Show Episode. DeGeneres took the stage with Portia de Rossi, whom she married last August, and was met with a warm round of applause from the audience. After thanking program producers and staff, DeGeneres added in appreciation of her wife, "Portia, we wouldn't be getting this award without [you]." Portia responded with a brief "Thank you" as Ellen looked on with a loving smile. You could feel the love between the beautiful couple!

translated by rayna rusenko