Josh Hutcherson and Chaz Bono will be
honored and Jason Mraz will perform at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation's (GLAAD) 23rd Annual Media Awards in
Los Angeles.
At the April 21 event, Hutcherson will
receive the group's Vanguard Award.
The 19-year-old actor, who currently
stars as Peeta Mellark in the blockbuster film The Hunger Games,
is an outspoken ally of the gay community, recording several videos
aimed at young gay teens with Straight But Not Narrow's (SBNN) Avan
Jogia. (An SBNN video is embedded in the right panel of this page.
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our video library for more videos.)
Hutcherson told SamaritanMag.com
that he supports gay rights because he has “a lot of gay friends in
Los Angeles” and “My roommate's gay and I lost two uncles when I
was young to AIDS.”
“Josh's commitment to achieving
equality for every American is a message he carries in his work on
screen and off, earning him the honor of being GLAAD's youngest-ever
Vanguard Award recipient,” GLAAD President Herndon Graddick said in
a statement.
Activist and author Bono, an outspoken
advocate for transgender rights, will receive the group's Stephen F.
Kolzak Award.
“Chaz has opened the door for
countless others, reshaping the way Americans think about transgender
people today,” said GLAAD's Mike Thompson. “His bold leadership
in sharing his story as a transgender man, as well as his tireless
work to secure equality for every American, embodies the values of
GLAAD's Stephen F. Kolzak Award.”
Previous Stephen F. Kolzak Award
honorees include Wanda Sykes, Rufus Wainwright, Melissa Etheridge,
Bill Condon, Todd Haynes, Alan Ball, Ellen DeGeneres, Sir Ian
McKellen and Robert Greenblatt.
Grammy Award-winning singer Jason Mraz,
an avid supporter of gay rights, will perform at the show.
Other guests include Ellen DeGeneres,
Betty White, Wendie Malick, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Jesse
Tyler Ferguson, Joshua Jackson, Kate Beckinsale, Kim Wayans, Molly
Shannon, Trevor Donovan, Fran Drescher, Mike Mills and Lt. Col.
Victor Fehrenbach.
(Related: Naya
Rivera, Josh Hutcherson win NewNowNext Awards.)