THE HUNGER GAMES' Josh Hutcherson to Receive Vanguard Award by GLAAD, 4/21

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the nation's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, announced it will honor LGBT equality advocate and actor Josh Hutcherson at the 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards presented nationally by Ketel One and Wells Fargo. Hutcherson will receive the Vanguard Award at the Los Angeles ceremony on April 21, 2012 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, presented locally by Delta Air Lines. As previously announced, advocate, author and speaker Chaz Bono will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award.

GLAAD also announced that Jason Mraz, longtime LGBT advocate and Grammy Award winner, will perform at the ceremony. Mraz recently filmed a PSA for the Human Rights Campaign's "Americans for Marriage Equality" initiative.

A live stream of the red carpet is available at http://glaad.org/live. For a full list of nominees, visit http://glaad.org/mediaawards.

GLAAD Media Awards will be presented onstage in the following categories: Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Documentary Outstanding Film- Wide Release, and Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series without a regular LGBT character).

On Saturday, April 14, 2012, GLAAD's Board of Directors elected media veteran Herndon Graddick as GLAAD's new President. He will speak at the GLAAD Media Awards. Herndon is a media veteran who has worked as a Supervising Producer at E! Networks, the day-of-air news division director at Current TV, and a producer at CNN. He currently serves as GLAAD's Vice President of Programs & Communications. For more information visit http://glaad.org/meetherndon.

Ellen Degeneres will open the event on April 21. Other special guests include: Betty White, Wendie Malick, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves (Hot in Cleveland); Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family); Joshua Jackson (Fringe); Mark Deklin, Miriam Shor (GCB); Tori Spelling (Tori & Dean: Home SweetHollywood); Kim Wayans (Pariah); Molly Shannon (Casa de mi Padre); LGBT advocate and writer Perez Hilton; singer and Vampire Diaries star Kat Graham; Trevor Donovan (90210); Brooke Elliott, Josh Berman (Drop Dead Diva); Gilles Marini (Switched at Birth); Fran Drescher (Happily Divorced); Guillermo Diaz (Scandal); Kelly Osbourne (So Undercover); Milla Jovovich (Faces in the Crowd); Ali Larter (The Asset); Travis Wall (All the Right Moves); Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato (Becoming Chaz); Mike Mills (Beginners); and decorated Air Force veteran Lt. Col Victor Fehrenbach. Additional guests for the April 21 Los Angeles event to be announced.

Josh Hutcherson will receive the Vanguard Award, which is presented to media professionals who, through their work, have increased the visibility and understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Nineteen-year-old actor and advocate Josh Hutcherson leads the next generation in the movement for LGBT equality. In 2010, Hutcherson starred as the son of a lesbian couple in the critically acclaimed film The Kids Are All Right, which received a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film – Wide Release, two Golden Globe Awards, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. Hutcherson currently stars as Peeta Mellark in the blockbuster film The Hunger Games.

Hutcherson is one of the founders of the LGBT ally organization Straight But Not Narrow (SBNN), and has remained outspoken about why equality for LGBT people is important. In an interview with SamaritanMag.com, Hutcherson said, "We just launched [SBNN], and it’s a very exciting time for us and it hits close to home for me. I have a lot of gay friends in Los Angeles. My roommate’s gay and I lost two uncles when I was young to AIDS, so it’s an important cause in my family."

Earlier this year, Hutcherson and fellow SBNN co-founder, actor Avan Jogia, met with Gay-Straight Alliance leaders at the GSA Network to film a video discussing the importance of GSA clubs in schools. In March, Hutcherson made a surprise appearance at a high school in Los Angeles where he spoke to GSA members about about the importance of being an ally for LGBT young people.

Nominees for the 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards were announced in January and are available here: http://www.glaad.org/mediaawards/nominees. The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBT community and the issues that affect their lives.

The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies will be held in Los Angeles on April 21, 2012 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites; and in San Francisco on June 2 at San Francisco Marriott Marquis. Glee's Dianna Agron will host the show in San Francisco, with a special performance by Cirque du Soleil’s Mystère. Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal) will receive the Golden Gate Award. Facebook and Wells Fargo will receive special awards at the event.

To receive the latest updates on the GLAAD Media Awards, follow @glaad on Twitter and use the hashtag #glaadawards.

The GLAAD Media Awards fund GLAAD's work to bring stories of LGBT people and issues to Americans. Each year, the GLAAD Media Awards in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco bring together more than 5,000 advocates and allies to raise nearly $3.5 million for the organization's work.

More than 100 corporate partners are showing their support, including National Presenting partners Ketel One andWells Fargo, New York Presenting partners Delta Air Lines and Prudential, Los Angeles Presenting partner Delta Air Lines, and San Francisco Presenting partner Southwest Airlines. GLAAD is also grateful to the 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards Platinum Underwriter corporate partners: Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Comcast/NBC Universal, Disney-ABCTelevision Group/ESPN, IBM, Sheppard Mullin and Time Warner, as well as Underwriter corporate partners: Allstate Insurance Company, AT&T, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, David Yurman, Food Network/Cooking Channel, New York City Marriott Marquis & Renaissance Hotel, PricewaterhouseCoopers, VPI Pet Insurance and Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites. For a full list of corporate partners and information on how to become a corporate partner or a table host, purchase tickets and place a tribute in the tribute book, please visit www.glaad.org/mediaawards or call (212) 219-0111.

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