Actress Kerry Washington was presented with an award for her gay
rights advocacy by Ellen DeGeneres on Saturday at the 26th annual
GLAAD Media Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.
Washington is best known for playing Olivia Pope, a crisis management
expert to the president of the United Stated, on the ABC drama Scandal.
GLAAD honored Washington with its Vanguard Award, which is
“presented to artists and media professionals who, through their work, have
increased the visibility and understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender community.”
The 38-year-old Washington told the crowd “there is enormous power
in inclusive storytelling.”
“We need more LGBT representation in the media. We need more LGBT
characters and more LGBT storytelling. We need more diverse LGBT
representation. And by that, I mean lots of different kinds of LGBT people,
living all different kinds of lives,” she said.
Washington also criticized African-Americans who oppose marriage
equality, saying that interracial unions once faced similar restrictions.
“So, when black people today tell me they don't believe in gay
marriage,” Washington said with a glare that got the crowd on its feet.
I tell them, “' You know, people used to say stuff like that about
you and your love. And if we let the government start to legislate love in our
lifetime, who do you think is next?' … We must be allies,” she added.
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