PALM SPRINGS – White Party Palm Springs will recognize people whose achievements “embody the spirit” of the gay dance music festival with the first Icon Awards at this year’s 25th anniversary celebration.

The festival is April 25-28, with the awards bestowed April 26.

Among the 28 recipients are singer Cher in the artist category, songwriter Sir Elton John and husband David Furnish in the philanthropist category, actor Bruce Vilanch in the activist category, and BRAVO TV personality Andy Cohen in the pioneer category.

“We are thrilled to present our special Icon Awards to individuals who have exemplified White Party’s defining principles of unity and celebration, commitment to excellence and leading edge creativity,” Jeffrey Sanker, founder and producer, said in a statement. “I look forward to presenting those attending recipients their awards on the White Carpet.”

About a third of the honorees have tentatively committed to attending, according to organizers. Sanker promised elaborate video displays, Bent Collective’s live DJ performance debut, and that SiriusXM would broadcast live from the Palm Springs Convention Center.

Conceptual photographer Duke Shoman will create photographic tableaus throughout the weekend as part of a fundraising auction effort to benefit Desert AIDS project.

Uber, a ride-hailing service through your phone, will serve as the official transportation, with stations set up throughout the festival.

Information: www.jeffreysanker.com

Icon Award recipients

• ARTIST

Carmen Electra — artist, activist

Cher — pioneer for LGBT community, activist

Jai Rodriguez — actor, activist

Kathy Griffin — comedian, philanthropist, activist

Lady Gaga —pioneer for LGBT community, philanthropist, activist

Lance Bass — actor, activist

• PHILANTHROPIST

Aaron Walton — philanthropist, activist

Bryan Singer — director, activist

David Cooley — founder of Abbey, philanthropist

Fred Arens and Jason Duguay — philanthropists, activists

Roland Emmerich — director, philanthropist

Sir Elton John and David Furnish — philanthropists, activists

• ACTIVIST

Adam Bouska and Jeff Parshley — NoH8 Campaign, activists

Bruce Vilanch — actor, writer, activist

Lisa Vanderpump — reality star, activist

Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo — Prop 8 activists

Ron Oden — Former Palm Springs mayor, activist

Ronnie Kroell — activist

Todd Saporito — philanthropist, activist

PIONEER

Andy Cohen — BRAVO TV personality, activist

Candis Cayne — pioneer of LGBT community, activist

David Stern — former publisher of Frontiers, activist

DJ Abel Aguilera — deejay, activist

Reza Farahan — BRAVO TV personality, pioneer of LGBT community

The post Bruce Vilanch To Receive Icon Award April 26 first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Chely Wright, Sam Sparro perform at San Francisco event presented by Southwest Airlines

Los Angeles, Sunday, June 6, 2010 –Bruce Vilanch, Nikki Blonsky, Wilson Cruz, Jai Rodriguez, Thea Gill, Michelle Clunie, Lynda and Jools Topp, Jan Wahl and Liam Mayclem were among the celebrities who joined the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) as it honored Cybill Shepherd, Lee Daniels, Robert Hanson and the best in documentaries and journalism last night at the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards presented in San Francisco by Southwest Airlines.

The GLAAD Media Awards elevate and promote fair, accurate and inclusive stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues, people and allies that have increased awareness, understanding and respect for the lives of LGBT people. The GLAAD Media Awards also fund GLAAD’s work to amplify stories of LGBT people and issues that build support for equality.

At the ceremony, Clementine Ford and Ariel Shepherd-Oppenheim presented the Golden Gate Award to their mother Cybill Shepherd, who has been outspoken in her support for full equality for LGBT people. The Golden Gate Award is presented to individuals who, through their work, have increased the visibility and understanding of the LGBT community in the media.

“We stand on the shoulders of our elders and I want to thank everyone who’s worked so hard to make this possible,” Shepherd said in her acceptance speech. “I’m very humbled and I don’t know that I could be more dedicated to this cause, but I could never thank you enough, GLAAD, for your education of me.”

Also at the event, actor Jensen Atwood presented the Davidson/Valentini Award to director Lee Daniels, who received an Academy Award® nomination for his 2009 film Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire. The Davidson/Valentini Award is presented to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender person who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for the LGBT community in the media.

“I come from a world where I was beaten daily by my dad because of my gayness. I had bullies and I wanted to kill myself,” Daniels recounted while accepting the Award, noting how these experiences had strengthened his determination to succeed.

Robert Hanson, president of Levi Strauss Americas, received the San Francisco Local Hero Award for championing the company’s involvement in supporting full LGBT equality. Hanson was out of the country on business and unable to accept his award in person. Jeff Harlowe, Senior Vice President for Levi’s Latin America Commercial Operations, accepted the award on his behalf.

Writer and comedian Bruce Vilanch hosted the show. Country music artist Chely Wright performed with Rodney Crowell and Jeremy Lister, and pop artist Sam Sparro closed the show for the capacity audience at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis. Other attendees included: Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer, Linda Perry who is dating Clementine Ford; Derrick Martin, a Georgia teenager who was thrown out of his home by his parents when he took his boyfriend to the prom; and Thomas Krever, executive director of the Hetrick-Martin Institute.

Following is a complete list of GLAAD Media Award recipients announced Saturday in San Francisco. Previous awards were presented in New York on March 13 and in Los Angeles on April 17. For a complete list of nominees and award recipients, please visit www.glaad.org/mediaawards.

Golden Gate Award: Cybill Shepherd (presented by her daughters, Clementine Ford and Ariel Shepherd-Oppenheim)
Davidson/Valentini Award: Lee Daniels (presented by actor Jensen Atwood)
Outstanding Documentary: Ask Not (PBS) [Accepted by: director Johnny Symons]
Outstanding Digital Journalism – Multimedia: “The Stonewall Riots: 40 Years Later” (AARP.org) [Accepted by: producer David Singleton]
San Francisco Local Hero Award: Robert Hanson (President of Levi Strauss Americas) [Accepted on his behalf by: Jeff Harlowe, Senior Vice President for Levi’s Latin America Commercial Operations]
GLAAD also announced that Lady Gaga received the award for Outstanding Music Artist for her album, The Fame Monster (Interscope). The GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Music Artist is presented to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) music artist who has increased visibility of the LGBT community and spoken out for equality via their music or media appearances. Lady Gaga has identified as bisexual in a number of interviews, spoke at last year’s National Equality March in Washington, D.C. and included LGBT images in her music videos.

GLAAD live tweeted from the GLAAD Media Awards red carpet and during the show. GLAAD’s tweets can be seen at http://twitter.com/glaad. If you tweet about the GLAAD Media Awards, please include the hashtag #GLAADMediaAwards in your tweets. Also, please follow @glaad on Twitter at http://twitter.com/glaad.

More than 100 corporate partners are showing their support, including New York Co-Presenting corporate partners IBM and Prudential, Los Angeles Presenting corporate partner ABSOLUT® Vodka and San Francisco Presenting corporate partner Southwest Airlines. GLAAD is also grateful to the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards Platinum Underwriter corporate partners: AT&T, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Time Warner, Lexus and University of Phoenix, as well as Underwriter corporate partners: Allstate Insurance Company, American Airlines, Comcast, Delta Air Lines, Fox Group, Harrah’s Foundation, Herb Ritts Foundation, Here Media, MTV Networks, MillerCoors, New York City Marriott & Renaissance Hotels, The Palette Fund, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Terry K. Watanabe Charitable Trust and UBS.

For a full list of corporate sponsors or information on how to become a corporate sponsor, please visit www.glaad.org/mediaawards.

About GLAAD
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) amplifies the voice of the LGBT community by empowering real people to share their stories, holding the media accountable for the words and images they present, and helping grassroots organizations communicate effectively. By ensuring that the stories of LGBT people are heard through the media, GLAAD promotes understanding, increases acceptance, and advances equality. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org. For the latest updates on our work, visit www.twitter.com/glaad and www.facebook.com/glaad.
[6/7/2010]

The post Cybill Shepherd, Lee Daniels Honored At 21St Annual Glaad Media Awards first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Cybill Shepherd and Lee Daniels were honored for their gay advocacy Saturday night at the final installment of the 21st annual GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco.

Shepherd, who played lesbian for three season on Showtime’s groundbreaking drama The L Word, was given the Golden Gate Award, while openly gay Precious director Daniels took home the Davidson/Valentini Award.

Wilson Cruz and Jai Rodriguez joined the show’s host writer-comedian Bruce Vilanch on the stage.

Lady Gaga won in the Outstanding Music Artist category for her most recent album The Fame Monster.

Chely Wright – the 39-year-old country music star who recently came out lesbian – performed for the crowd. Also performing was Australian recording artist Sam Sparro, who announced he is gay on the cover of Australian gay glossy Attitude in 2008.

Ask Not, a documentary on the military’s ban on open service, won in the Outstanding Documentary category, while The Stonewall Riots: 40 Years Later, a film that chronicles the gay rights movement, took home the Outstanding Digital Journalism prize.

Robert Hanson, president of Levi Strauss Americas, was given the San Francisco Local Hero Award for championing marriage equality in the business community.

The GLAAD Media Awards recognize excellence in 41 categories including newspaper content, syndicated columnists and comic books. Awards were rolled out in a series of ceremonies. ABC took home the most awards in television during a New York ceremony in March. During the award’s second installment in Los Angeles, Director Tom Ford’s film about a gay man’s journey after the loss of his lover, A Single Man, won for outstanding film.

The post Highlights Of The GLAAD Awards first appeared on We Got Bruce!.