KATHY GRIFFIN, EPISCOPAL BISHOP GENE ROBINSON TO BE HONORED AT 20TH ANNUAL GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS PRESENTED BY IBM

The L Word to receive Special Recognition Award at Los Angeles event
presented by ABSOLUT(r) VODKA

L-word.com note: B&TForever will be covering this event. Keep your eyes on L-word.com for photos and a report!

Los Angeles, March 18, 2009 - The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD) announced today that Kathy Griffin will receive the
Vanguard Award and the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson will receive the
Stephen F. Kolzak Award at the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, which
honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of
the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The Los
Angeles ceremony will be held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on
Saturday, April 18, 2009. In recognition of its final season on
Showtime, The L Word will receive a Special Recognition Award.

A long time ally of the LGBT community, Kathy Griffin consistently
includes LGBT people on the two-time Emmy-winning reality program Kathy
Griffin: My Life on the D-List, as well as in her comedy specials, her
Grammy-nominated comedy CD For Your Consideration, and in her stand-up
routines around the world. This year Kathy Griffin: My Life on the
D-List received its second consecutive GLAAD Media Awards nomination for
Outstanding Reality Program. When not making audiences around the world
laugh on television or stage, she is a vocal supporter of marriage
equality in interviews with media outlets including Larry King Live. In
2008, she appeared in a public service announcement produced by human
rights group Causecast urging viewers to vote against Proposition 8, the
ballot initiative that eliminated the right to marry for gay and lesbian
couples in California. The Vanguard Award is presented to media
professionals who, through their work, have increased the visibility and
understanding of the LGBT community. Past recipients of the Vanguard
Award include Janet Jackson, Charlize Theron, Antonio Banderas, Eric
McCormack, Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli, and Whoopi Goldberg.

Bishop Robinson became the first openly gay Bishop of the Episcopal
Church after he was elected Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New
Hampshire in 2004. He most recently delivered the invocation at the
opening celebration of the Presidential Inauguration at the Lincoln
Memorial. Robinson will be honored with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award for
his work to raise visibility of LGBT-inclusive voices of faith. His
ongoing work as a LGBT advocate has been featured in international news
outlets including The New York Times, Reuters and NPR. His personal
story is featured in the documentary For the Bible Tells Me So and in
his 2008 book In the Eye of the Storm. For the Bible Tells Me So
profiles several LGBT families discussing their Christian faith and
received the award for Outstanding Documentary at the 19th Annual GLAAD
Media Awards. Robinson joins Rufus Wainwright, Melissa Etheridge, Bill
Condon, Todd Haynes, Alan Ball, Ellen DeGeneres and Sir Ian McKellen as
a recipient of the award, which is presented to an openly LGBT media
professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal
rights for our community.

Showtime drama The L Word will receive a Special Recognition Award as
the show concludes its sixth and final season. The L Word broke new
ground for LGBT visibility on television with its focus of exploring the
lives and loves of a group of lesbian and bisexual women in Los Angeles.
Created by Executive Producer Ilene Chaiken and featuring a talented
ensemble cast, the show is unique for prominently featuring women - many
of them lesbian or bisexual - both in front of and behind the camera.
The show has gained worldwide popularity, airing in 39 countries, and
received nominations and trophies from the Emmy Awards, the NAACP Image
Awards, the Leo Awards, the Satellite Awards, and the GLAAD Media
Awards. Chaiken, along with cast members Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey,
Kate Moennig, and Pam Grier will accept the award.

Additional guests scheduled to appear include: T.R. Knight, Eric Dane;
Rebecca Gayheart; Balthazar Getty; John Stamos; Megan Mullally; Alan
Cumming; Gus Van Sant; George Takei; Bruno Tonioli; Robert Gant, Peter
Paige, Thea Gill, Michelle Clunie; Wilson Cruz; Chad Allen; GLAAD
President Neil G. Giuliano. More names to be announced.

In January, GLAAD announced 125 nominees in 26 English-language
categories, and 60 Spanish-language nominees in 15 categories. A full
list of nominees for the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards is available
here: http://www.glaad.org/mediaawards/20thAnnual/nominees.php. This
year, more than 5,000 people will attend the GLAAD Media Awards in New
York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, raising more than $3.5 million for
the organization's work.

Kathy Griffin and Bishop Robinson join previously announced honorees
Suze Orman and Tyra Banks, recipients of the Vito Russo Award and the
Excellence in Media Award respectively, at the March 28 ceremony held at
the Marriott Marquis in New York, and Chad Allen as the
Davidson/Valentini honoree at the San Francisco ceremony on May 9 at the
Hilton San Francisco.

Theatre tickets for the Los Angeles event are $50. General tickets for
the Los Angeles event are $100 and VIP tickets begin at $450. Tickets
are available at www.glaad.org/mediaawards.

More than 100 corporate sponsors are showing their support, including
National Presenting Partner IBM and Local Presenting Partners ABSOLUT(r)
VODKA and Prudential. GLAAD is also grateful to the event's Platinum
Underwriters Bud Light, Comcast, TimeWarner and the University of
Phoenix. AT&T, Allstate Insurance Company, American Airlines, Barefoot
Wines, Disney/ABC, HMS Media, the Herb Ritts Foundation, Marriott New
York Marquis, Renaissance New York Hotel, MillerCoors, NBC Universal,
PriceWaterHouseCoopers, Southwest Airlines, The Terry K. Watanabe
Charitable Trust and Wyndham Worldwide support the 20th Annual GLAAD
Media Awards as Underwriter Sponsors.

For a full list of corporate sponsors or information on how to become a
corporate sponsor, purchase tickets or a tribute journal ad, please
visit www.glaad.org/mediaawards or contact glaad@stampeventco.com.

About GLAAD

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to
promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of
people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and
discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. For more
information, please visit www.glaad.org <http://www.glaad.org/> .