Debra Messing Calls Out Ivanka Trump: "Stop Blindly Defending Your Father"
Debra Messing was the woman of the evening at the 28th GLAAD Media Awards in New York Saturday night, when she received the Excellence in Media Award for her work promoting equality and acceptance.
Drag Race judge Ross Mathews returned to host the event, which welcomed Whoopi Goldberg, Janet Mock, Trevor Noah, Christian Slater, Don Lemon, Justin Traynor, Zachary Quinto, Joe Jonas and DNCE, who performed two songs.
In her speech, Messing waited no time in addressing the current political climate: "Right now there is a very bad and a very orange man in the White House—at least four times a month."
She then turned to address First Daughter Ivanka Trump, appealing to her “one Jewish mother to another”
“It’s not enough to simply say that women’s issues are important to you. It’s time to do something," said the actress, who returns this fall in NBC's Will & Grace reboot. "You can change the lives of millions of women and children just by telling your dad stories about real people who are suffering.”
Messing called on Ivanka to stop "blindly defending" her father and start “defending what you say you believe in."
“You can’t just write ‘#womenwhowork’ and think you’re advancing feminism,” Messing added. “You need to be a woman who does good work.... Imagine how you’ll feel, sitting at Passover seder, if you can tell your children that you fought for justice and freedom."
"If you get Steve Bannon out of office," she added, "I bet we’ll get you back in Nordstrom.”
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah won Outstanding Talk Show Episode with a segment on Angelica Ross, CEO of TransTech Social Enterprises, a firm helping transgender people get employed.
"Thank you to the people who gave us a platform to listen," said Daily Show host Trevor Noah, who acknowledged he hadn't always gotten it right. "I know I haven't always been the most open-minded. I'm unconditioning my conditioning. It's scary, but not as scary as the journey most people in this room have been on."
Rosie O'Donnell made a surprise appearance, rousing the crowd in her introduction to honoree Billy Porter, who received the Vito Russo Award. Joking that she's often criticized for attacking Donald Trump on Twitter, O'Donnell pulled out her phone and tweeted "Fuck you, Donald—from the gays!"
O'Donnell also announced she was making a $100,000 donation to GLAAD.
Below, view the full list of winners from the 28th GLAAD Media Awards in New York.
Outstanding documentary:
“Mapplethorde: Look at the Pictures”
“Out of Iraq”
“The Same Difference”
*“Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four”
“The Trans List”
Outstanding reality program:
“Gaycation”
“I Am Cait”
“I Am Jazz”
“The Prancing Elites Project”
*“Strut”
Outstanding music artist:
Against Me!, “Shape Shift With Me”
Blood Orange, “Freetown Sound”
Brandy Clark, “Big Day in a Small Town”
Tyler Glenn, “Excommunication”
Ty Herndon, “House on Fire”
Elton John, “Wonderful Crazy Night”
Lady Gaga, “Joanne”
Frank Ocean, “Blonde”
Sia, “This is Acting”
*Tegan and Sara, “Love You to Death”
Outstanding talk show episode:
*“Angelica Ross,” “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah”
“Cookie Johnson,” “Super Soul Sunday”
“North Carolina and Georgia Anti-LGBTQ Laws,” “Late Night with Seth Meyers”
“Tony Marrero, Orlando Shooting Survivor,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”
“Trey Pearson,” “The View”
Outstanding journalism newsmagazine:
“Bingham,” “SC Featured”
*“Church and States,” “VICE News Tonight”
“Gavin Grimm’s Fight,” “VICE News Tonight”
“Life as Matt,” “E:60”
“Switching Teams,” “60 Minutes”
Outstanding journalism segment:
*“Gay Community in U.S. ‘Forged in Fire,” “The Rachel Maddow Show”
“Interview with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi,” “Anderson Cooper 360”
“Many in LGBT Community Fear Changes under Trump,” “NBC Nightly News”
“Terror in Orlando,” “PBS NewsHour”
“Troop Turnaround: U.S. Military Transgender Ban Ended by Pentagon,” “CBS This Morning”
Outstanding magazine overall coverage:
The Advocate
Cosmopolitan
Seventeen
*Teen Vogue
Time
Outstanding blog:
* Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters
I’m Still Josh
Mombian
My Fabulous Disease
TransGriot
Special recognition:
Her Story
We’ve Been Around
