Josh Hutcherson To Be Honored, Jason Mraz To Perform At GLAAD Awards
April 16th, 2012
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. Visit 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.
