Cher in an oversize Afro wig, Ellen DeGeneres wondering if Betty White is gay and Josh Hutcherson talking about having a gay son—welcome to last night's GLAAD Media Awards.
Let's start with The Hunger Games star…
Hutcherson, 19, was presented with the Vanguard Award by Benicio Del Toro.
"I'm sick of saying the words gay and lesbian," Hutcherson said. "It's just people…One day I want my son to come home from school and be like, ‘Dad, I found this guy and I love him.' And I'll be like, ‘Yes, you do and that's OK!' I so want that."
He also said he wants to continue his fight to support equal rights for gays and lesbians through Straight But Not Narrow, a nationwide organization of straight supporters of gay rights. "I'll hopefully make a million more movies but this is what I want to do with my life, changing the world and hopefully change what people think," he said, adding, "Everybody just be yourself and encourage everyone to do the same."
GLAAD's new president Herndon Graddick said of Hutcherson, "I think it shows the changing of the times. He's a 19-year-old actor, who even before The Hunger Games, formed his own organization to support gay rights. It shows you that young people are over this particular issue. I think it's huge."
DeGeneres opened the show, which took place at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown L.A. "I heard that Betty White is here," the talk show queen said. "I did not know you were gay. Welcome, sister!"
She also cracked that the Media Awards "is the largest award show honoring LGBT people in the media except for the Oscars, the Tonys and the Emmys!"
Too funny.
And she continued, "We are on TV more than ever. We're on commercials, in magazines. We're all over the media—and that's just my JC Penny campaign."
Cher was the bigwig surprise of the evening. She popped up to help present the Stephen F. Kolzak Award to her son, Chaz Bono, with his stepmom, California congresswoman Mary Bono Mack.
"What I want to say is you are the most courageous person I know and you really deserve this award," the music legend said.
Jason Mraz was set to perform during the show, but had to cancel because he was sick. He did, however, make an appearance. He talked about how he and his gay best friend were bullied in high school.
"I was skinny and scrawny and we never fought back," Mraz said. "We were tormented and I got my ass kicked. And I never fought back. But now I'm skinny and scrawny and I'm also rich and powerful…So I'm fighting back now for all our friends."
Another highlight of the evening was a speech by Jennifer Tyrrell, a lesbian mom who was recently removed as her son's den mother by the Boy Scouts of America because she's gay.
There were no dry eyes in the house when Tracy and Tim Rodemeyer spoke on stage with their daughter Alyssa about their late son Jamey, the 14-year-old gay Lady Gaga fan who committed suicide last year.
Hutcherson and Bono weren't the only honorees last night. Beginners was named outstanding film while Becoming Chaz took home the prize for outstanding documentary and Modern Family picked up outstanding comedy series for the second consecutive year. Drop Dead Diva and Hot in Cleveland tied for individual episodes.