Over 3,000 people attending the Human
Rights Campaign's (HRC) 14th annual National Dinner at the
Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C. on Saturday cheered
gay icon Bette Midler.
The Oscar, Grammy, Golden Globe and
Emmy-winning actress-comedian received a loud round of applause when
she opened her remarks with: “I want to begin by acknowledging the
one thing I know you are all thinking right now, which is: Don't I
look fabulous!”
Milder presented the group's Ally for
Equality Award to Grammy-winning singer Pink.
“Wherever she appears, Pink expresses
her point of view,” Midler told the crowd. “One of fairness,
kindness, tolerance and equality. She sets an example for all of us
knowing that none of us are human until each and everyone of us is
recognized fully as a human being.”
“She's just brilliant,” she added.
(The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)
In accepting the award, Pink
said she doesn't want distinctions between gay and straight marriage.
Last
week, she announced that the video for the just-released single
Raise Your Glass
will be set at a gay wedding.
Pop
singer Ricky Martin told the crowd that he's counting on the HRC to
make the U.S. more welcoming for families like his.