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The Stars Spill Some Secrets at GLAAD

Last Saturday at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, Hollywood came out to show their support for queer folks at the 18th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, which will air on April 21 on Logo, AfterEllen.com’s parent company. Among the stars in attendance were Sarah Paulson, Martina Navratilova, Work Out‘s Jesse Brune, The L Word‘s Laurel Holloman, Marlee Matlin and Rachel Shelley, and South of Nowhere‘s Mandy Musgrave and Gabrielle Christian. As they made their way down the red carpet before the show, I had the chance to talk with some of them about the GLAAD Awards and what we can expect from their shows next season. The L Word: “If I could write it, I would have it happen” Laurel Holloman, Rachel Shelley and Marlee Matlin attended the GLAAD Awards shortly after The L Word wrapped up its fourth season, in which Holloman’s character, Tina, spent much of the season in a relationship with a man. Holloman admitted that Tina’s relationship with Henry (Steven Eckholdt) was a “challenge” for her to portray.

“Getting stuck with a guy is not a great thing on The L Word and didn’t really give me a lot of opportunities to work,” she told AfterEllen.com, “and I wish that the story line had gotten explored just so you could see either how unhappy Tina was … or why she made that choice. I think it was a tricky story line, and I really look forward to fifth season, because it’s gonna be very different for all of us, but very different for Tina.”

Asked whether she felt uncomfortable with the bisexual story line, Holloman responded: “I just didn’t see it coming, but that was part of Tina’s history. I think it was a story line Ilene [Chaiken] thought was important ’cause she’d seen it happen, and she wanted to put it out there. She wanted to tell the story, and of course it created a really nice drama for Bette and Tina.”

Holloman also said she is pulling for Bette and Tina to reunite. “If I could write it, I would have it happen,” she said, but she also noted that Tina “just needs to grow up a bit, too, and be on her own and date some women.” Holloman believes that Tina has matured quite a bit since the first season, and her relationship with Bette has also evolved – despite their ups and downs and Bette’s new relationship with Marlee Matlin’s character.

“It’s very different, the dynamic” between Tina and Bette, Holloman said. “They’re becoming friends. Like if you really look at the end of fourth season, they’re talking to each other with complete honesty. … [Tina] can say to [Bette], ‘You’re a control freak’; ‘This is what messed up.’ That was never happening before.”

Rachel Shelley’s character, Helena, has also changed quite a bit since she first joined the show in its second season, but Shelley believes the old Helena – Shelley characterized her as “a very strong, manipulative woman” – is still there. “She’s been Californiarized,” Shelley told us, “but … those elements of her are still there. Like when she was trying to get a job, she would be quite fierce.”

By the end of the fourth season, Helena had tried her hand at a variety of careers (after being cut off from her inheritance at the end of the third season), including salon assistant to Shane, caterer, and gambler/companion to the wealthy Catherine Rothberg (Sandrine Holt). But in the fourth season finale, Helena set herself up for a criminal future after taking a large amount of Catherine’s cash.

When asked what sort of career she thought Helena should choose in the fifth season, Shelley responded, “I can’t give away what’s happening, but I don’t think she’s gonna have much of a choice.”

Work Out: “You can’t mess around with straight girls”

This season on Bravo’s Work Out, trainer Jesse Brune, who became known last season as Jackie Warner’s favorite, had a falling out with his boss after he learned about Jackie’s nascent relationship with formerly straight trainer Rebecca Cardon, but Jesse assured us that he and Jackie have repaired their friendship.

“I think Jackie and I are very similar; we have a very similar sense of humor,” he told AfterEllen.com. “We both butt heads … because we have very strong personalities, but oh yeah, we’re fine. We were both giving each other hugs the other night after a couple of drinks.”

Asked for his opinion on the Jackie/Rebecca romance, Jesse responded: “It’s ridiculous. I think they’re just friends now, really, but … I think Rebecca wanted some extra camera time really.” Not all of it was posing for the camera, though. “I was like ‘Oh, that’s stupid; they’re faking it’ — no, they weren’t!”

When I observed that it seemed as though Rebecca was more interested in Jackie than vice versa, Jesse agreed, “Jackie keeps dissing her every corner, doesn’t she?” He continued: “But you know, I think Jackie just … got out of that really long relationship with that really intense person, and so she I think she just wanted to have a little fun. But you can’t mess around with straight girls ’cause they’re gonna get attached to you. I think that’s the lesson she learned.” He confirmed that the two are not dating each other right now.

As for Jesse himself, he continues to work both as a trainer and a chef, but he also sees more reality TV — possibly another season of Work Out? in the future. “I mean, who knows, but keep our fingers crossed.”

Martina Navratilova: “Let’s define ourselves”

This year, tennis legend Martina Navratilova was awarded the Stephen F. Kolzak Award, which is presented to an LGBT professional who has made a significant contribution to advancing equal rights for the gay community. In the video montage before Navratilova stepped onstage to accept her award, she declared, “I don’t want tolerance; I want equality.”

After watching the video, Navratilova said jokingly, “That video — those hairstyles. Sanjaya’s got nothing on me!”

Before the show, when asked how it felt to be honored with the award, Navratilova told AfterEllen.com: “Well, it means that I’ve done something right, and it means that I need to keep doing it, because until we have full and equal protection under the law, I will not stop this career. We’ve come a long way — there [are] a lot more people that are out, there are more gay and lesbian characters on TV and in movies, but we’re still a minority, and it’s still OK to pick on us, you know. It’s still OK for Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter to spew hatred, and that’s just not acceptable to me.”

GLAAD president Neil Giuliano recently announced that GLAAD is about to launch a new initiative to combat homophobia in sports, and when asked whether she would be participating in it, Navratilova said, “They’ve asked me — I just found out about it. I might be. There’s no reason for me not to be. If I can help in that regard, I certainly would be involved.”

Her activism is summed up by her closing words after accepting the Kolzak award: “Get in the game,” she told the audience. “Let’s define ourselves.”

South of Nowhere: “It is a true love relationship” Most of the cast of The N’s teen drama South of Nowhere, which is about to start shooting its third season, mingled on the red carpet on Saturday night, including series creator Tom Lynch and actors Gabrielle Christian (Spencer Carlin), Mandy Musgrave (Ashley Davies) and Maeve Quinlan (Paula Carlin). When asked how it felt to be nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, Lynch responded: “Are you kidding? With The Sopranos and Brothers & Sisters, it’s awesome.”

He continued: “On one hand, as the creator of the show you go, ‘Oh my God, people are really watching it.’ And then I look at these two [Musgrave and Christian], and they’re the reason. They’re the reason it’s happening, so I’m very, very proud of my girls.”

The series’ second season ended with a shooting at King High’s prom, leaving one character wounded — perhaps fatally — but Lynch, of course, wouldn’t reveal who was injured. “I have just written that scene,” he told us, “and it’s not gonna be released — they’re [the cast] not even gonna see until we shoot it. But what I will tell you is that I hope the audience comes away shocked, surprised, relieved and touched. And the cast doesn’t even know.”

Fans of the show have also been speculating for months about whether Spencer and Ashley’s relationship, which seemed to be on the rocks at the end of last season, will survive. Though Musgrave and Christian both say they want more Spashley — “We’re pushing for it,” said Musgrave, “’cause that’s my favorite story line” — they also both seemed to suggest that changes were going to occur.

“Like most high school relationships, they come and go,” Christian offered.

Musgrave put in, “It is a true love relationship, and sometimes you break up, sometimes you don’t, sometimes you get back together.”

“Or obstacles come in the way,” Christian added.

But both actors hope that viewers will tune in to see what happens. When asked what they wanted to tell their fans, Musgrave said: “I hope that whatever we do, we will still be able to please you, and you’ll still come to us and find room to … relate and be able to talk to us and know that you are getting something out of it no matter what happens, whether someone goes straight, whether we stay together, whether we break up, no matter what happens.”

Christian agreed. “I’d say the same thing. We’ve had a lot of really positive feedback thus far, and a lot of people have said that the show has helped them in their own journeys. And as actors, to be able to give a message — which is kind of rare sometimes in the Hollywood world of entertainment — it’s nice to know that you can be a positive role model.”

Tom Lynch assured us, “There’s gonna be a lot more twists and turns to Spashley.”

The 2007 L.A. GLAAD Media Awards airs on Logo this Saturday, April 21st at 9pm. Visit LogoOnline.com for more information.

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