In a rousing speech, the former U.S. President thanks his daughter Chelsea for leading him to support marriage equality.
- Apr 21, 2013
AceShowbiz - Jennifer Lawrence was on hand to present former U.S. President Bill Clinton with the Advocate for Change Award at GLAAD Media Awards Saturday night, April 20 at the J.W. Marriott Los Angeles. The "Silver Linings Playbook" star was joined by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Showing off new shoulder-length hairdo, Lawrence rocked a David Koma dress and Nicholas Kirkwood shoes that she paired with David Webb jewelry and a Roger Vivier bag. She mildly flubbed Clinton's name when inviting him to collect the honor presented by his daughter Chelsea.
The former president was all smiles though. He even cracked a joke about it, "I don't know why Harvey made Jennifer do that. She really was like two years old when I became president. I met her backstage and she looked like she was touring the Museum of Natural History."
In his acceptance speech, Clinton credited his daughter for gay marriage stance. "She has had a profound impact on the way I see the world," he told the star-studded crowd. "It's sort of humbling when you get to be my age when your child knows more than you do about everything."
"Chelsea and her gay friends have modeled to me how we should all treat each other regardless of our sexual orientation or any other artificial difference that divides us. Many of them come and join us every Thanksgiving for a meal," he went on. "I have grown very attached to them."
"And over the years, I was forced to confront the fact that people who oppose equal rights for gays in the marriage sphere are basically acting out of concern for their own identity, not out of respect for anyone else," he continued his moving speech at the gala.
To the LGBT community and their supporters who came to the event that night, Clinton humbly said, "You are the agents of change. I got this award tonight, because I was the object of your affection - or not, as the case may be."
He concluded, "My daughter led me to support the marriage equality law in New York when we were debating it, and to oppose North Carolina's denial of marriage equality, and to do all these other things. So I want to thank her too. Thank you, GLAAD. Thank you, Chelsea."
Emma Watson's drama movie "The Perks of Being a Wallflower was named Outstanding Film: Wide Release, while "The New Normal", "American Horror Story: Asylum" and "Days of Our Lives" received the top honors in television category.
Guests include "Wallflower" cast Logan Lerman, Mae Whitman and Johnny Simmons, "Glee" stars Naya Rivera and Darren Criss, "Captain America: The First Avenger" actor Chris Evans and his openly gay younger brother, Scott Evans.
Rumer Willis and her boyfriend Jayson Blair, Matt Dallas and his fiance Blue Hamilton, Eric Dane and his wife Rebecca Gayheart were there as well along with Drew Barrymore, Kirsten Dunst, Ali Larter, Elle Fanning, Tobey Maguire, Matthew Bomer.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Charlize Theron joined forces to honor lawyer Steve Warren for his activism efforts, while Alex Pettyfer and Betty White took the stage together to auction off kisses. The unlikely duo also gave each other smooch on stage.
Amidst the celebratory atmosphere following the event, writer Bret Easton Ellis took to Twitter to slam GLAAD for banning him. "GLAAD is supposedly 'furious' about my tweets. And I'm guessing not the ones concerning my boyfriend or how sexy I think Adam Driver I," he wrote.
He added in another tweet, "After GLAAD banned me they told the friend who was bringing me to the event to WARN "Bret not to go public or TWEET about this decision."
In response, the organization explained, "GLAAD spoke with the guest who was planning to bring Bret about some of Bret's recent remarks, which the gay community responded negatively to. We also asked for a time to sit down with Bret."
"They decided to replace Bret with a different guest and there has been no response to the offer of a meeting. We hope his tweets don't overshadow the high-profile allies and everyday LGBT people who will be onstage tonight advocating for equality in the Boy Scouts, marriage and across the country."
GLAAD supposedly was not impressed by Ellis defending Paris Hilton who once said gay men on dating site Grindr was diseased. The author also previously sparked controversy for dissing "Glee" and "Modern Family".
He said watching "Glee" was like "stepping into a puddle of HIV," and he called those who thought "Modern Family" had "a progressive attitude about gayness" a "retrograde tool." He added, "The fact that it's being lauded: a joke."
