Kylie Minogue, George Takei, Naomi Watts At 2014 GLAAD Media Awards In NYC: PHOTOS
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
George Takei accepts the 2014 Vito Russo Award[/caption]
It was a regular Oz-fest Saturday Night, when Australian superstars Kylie Minogue and Naomi Watts hit the 2014 GLAAD Media Awards at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. Joining them were George Takei, who was awarded the Vito Russo Award, and the cast of Orange is the New Black, winner of GLAAD's Outstanding Comedy Series.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
The cast of "Orange is the New Black"[/caption]
Out comedian Fortune Feimster hosted the gala, a followup to the GLAAD Awards in L.A. on April 12. The evening's other winners included the films Concussion and Philomena and Oprah Winfrey's interview with openly gay professional basketball player Jason Collins.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Candis Cayne[/caption]
CBS' Elementary won Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series without a regular LGBT character) for the episode "Snow Angels," which featured trans performer Candis Cayne, who accepted the award. (For a full list of winners, visit GLAAD's website.)
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Boy George and Kylie Minogue[/caption]
British pop legend Boy George introduced Minogue, who got the crowd on their feet for a sing-a-long version of her hit "Can't Get You Out of My Head." The petite pop princess also recalled her awakening to her gay fanbase, when she saw a Kylie impersonator in Sydney back in the 1980s.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Takei with his husband, Brad Altman[/caption]
Takei was introduced by Stafford Arima, who is directing the upcoming Broadway musical Allegiance, based on Takei's experience as a child in a WWII Japanese internment camp. "As a closeted kid growing up in Los Angeles, all I saw of gays and lesbians in movies and television or heard on radio were caricatures of people who were mocked and laughed at, or pitied, or hated," Takei said in his acceptance speech. "The media stripped us of all humanity and made us into pathetic stereotypes. The media then was a soul-crushing monster. GLAAD took on this formidable beast with its media savvy, political acumen and the power of its advocacy and transformed the media into a powerful force for change."
Also seen at the 25th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York: Grammy-winning Country singer Kacey Musgraves, OITNB cast members Laverne Cox, Natasha Lyonne, Laura Prepon, Samira Wiley, Dascha Polanco, Selenis Leyva, and Yael Stone, Taryn Manning, Alysia Reiner; Emmy Rossum (Shameless); Swoosie Kurtz (Mike & Molly); Lee Tergesen (The Americans); Raúl Castillo, Frankie J. Álvarez (Looking); Tamron Hall (Today Show), Big Freedia; out NCAA basketball player Derrick Gordon; WWE Superstar Darren Young; Olympic speed skater Blake Skjellerup; MMA fighter Jessica Aguilar; transgender model Geena Rocero; GLAAD National Spokespersons Wilson Cruz and Omar Sharif, Jr., and GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis.
Naomi Watts
