Anderson Cooper presented Emmy Award-winning talk show host Kelly Ripa with GLAAD's Excellence in Media Award at the 26th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York City on Saturday night. The Excellence in Media Award is presented to media professionals who have made a significant difference in promoting equality.
Previous Excellence in Media Award honorees include Russell Simmons, Tyra Banks, Judy Shepard, Julianne Moore, Glenn Close, Barbara Walters, Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Diane Sawyer, and Vanessa Redgrave.
"For over a decade, Kelly Ripa has greeted millions of viewers with messages of acceptance and inclusion," said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. "By sharing inclusive stories with her audience and loudly voicing support for her LGBT friends and fans, Kelly is helping to drive acceptance forward."
Anderson Cooper presented the award:
As the co-host of LIVE with Kelly and Michael, Ripa has shared the daily lives of LGBT Americans with morning audiences across the country for years. By simply talking about her friends' daily lives and sharing her experiences with viewers, Ripa has become an outspoken ally to the LGBT community. Through her daily discussions with co-host Michael Strahan and interviews of LGBT guests and allies, she has voiced, her support of marriage equality, sent messages of hope to LGBT youth, and spoken about the importance of LGBT representations in entertainment media.
Ripa has also participated in GLAAD's Spirit Day campaign to support LGBT youth and hosted the Point Foundation's Point Honors event alongside friend and out TV personality Andy Cohen. She and husband Mark Consuelos also executive produce Logo's Secret Guide to Fabulous, in which gay co-hosts Rob Younkers, John Gidding, and Theodore Leaf, help everyday people enhance their daily lives. The show’s second season premieres this summer.
Comedian Ross Mathews hosted the event. Other guests included: Jeffrey Tambor, Judith Light, Trace Lysette (Transparent); Rupert Friend (Homeland) and fiancé Aimee Mullins; Jonathan Groff (Looking); Laverne Cox, Dascha Polanco (Orange Is the New Black); Janet Mock (So Popular!); Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt); Karla Mosley, Scott T. Schofield, Crystal Chappell (The Bold and the Beautiful); out NBA player Jason Collins; out football player Michael Sam and fiancé Vito Cammisano; Craig Melvin (MSNBC Live) and wife Lindsay Czarniak (SportsCenter); Alicia Menendez (Alicia Menendez Tonight); out country singer Ty Herndon; models Andreja Pejic, Rain Dove,Josephine Skriver, Cory Wade; fashion designer Donna Karan; Monifah Carter and her wife Terez Thorpe (R&B Divas: Atlanta); Terry Artis, Jonathan Bodrick, Brandon Hood, JJ Langan, Devin Stokes, Kristen Brown (B.O.R.N. to Style); Josh Canfield, Reed Kelly(Survivor); Louise Sorel (Days of Our Lives); out WWE wrestler Darren Young; John Gidding, Theodore Leaf, Rob Younkers (Secret Guide to Fabulous); Antigone Rising'sKristen Henderson; and GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.
The Los Angeles GLAAD Media Awards were held on March 21 at the Beverly Hilton. For video, photos, and more, visit: http://glaad.org/mediaawards/recap. The 26th Annual GLAAD Media Awards are presented by Delta Air Lines, Hilton, Ketel One Vodka, and Wells Fargo; and Official Presenting Partners Amazon and Bud Light.
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