The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD) honored financial-guru Suze Orman, Phil Donahue
and Tyra Banks at its 20th annual Media Awards hosted by
comedian Kate Clinton in New York on Saturday.
Openly gay T.R. Knight presented the
Vito Russo award to Orman, who urged the audience to “invest in
companies that invest in you.”
“I want every single one of you in
this room to take note of what corporations put their time and money
behind gays, behind lesbians – behind you,” Orman said in
accepting her award.
“Do you want to continue to give your
money to people in corporations that oppress us, that keep us down?
Or do you want to give your money to the corporations who can help us
rise and change what needs to be changed in the United States today,”
she added.
The first-ever gay television-to-movie
crossover Noah's Arc: Jumping The Broom tied with the coming
out story Shelter in the Outstanding Film – Limited Release
category.
And the controversial film about the
lives of gay men and lesbians in Muslim countries A Jihad For Love
won the Best Documentary.
Also honored was Phil Donahue, a long
time gay community ally and television personality. Donahue said in
accepting his award: “The majority of the people in the nation
agree with us. Our job now is to summon these people to stand up and
say so out loud. To tell them to join us. To march the lavender
line with us down Fifth Avenue, and to remind them, when they do join
us, they're going to meet a lot of nice people.”
Tyra Banks received the Excellence in
Media award. In accepting her award, the model and television star
thanked the gay and lesbian community for believing in her.
“You were the ones that told me that
my ass was beautiful,” Banks said.
Also honored were journalists,
publishers and theater productions that accurately reflected the
lives of the gay and lesbian community.