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25th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in NY honors “OITNB,” “Concussion” and more!

Saturday’s spring showers certainly did not put a damper on the festivities at this year’s GLAAD Media Awards, held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Celebs and GLAAD supporters alike turned out in their finest gowns and tuxes to celebrate the organization’s 25th annual ceremony. This year also marked a significant change in GLAAD leadership, with CEO Sarah Kate Ellis now at the helm.

Needless to say, the night was leztastic. Funny lady (and former AfterEllen vlogger) Fortune Feimster hosted the event and had the entire red carpet and ballroom in stitches. Many of the ladies of Orange is the New Black were in attendance, and accepted the GLAAD award for Best Comedic Series. Yael Stone, who plays Lorna Morello, delivered the acceptance speech on behalf of the cast and crew, in her incredibly charming Aussie accent. Also pulling in a win was Stacie Passon‘s debut feature Concussion, which took home the award for Outstanding Film Limited Release.

Overall the evening was a huge hit, and spirits were high. The red carpet was star studded and high-spirited, with special guests and presenters taking time to talk to as many outlets at time allowed. As a first time red carpet reporter, I must say the experience was thrilling. While I wasn’t able to get face time with the whole cast of Orange is the New Black ,I did have lovely chats with some of the most crush worthiest ladies you could dream of meeting.

Dascha Polanco, who plays Dayanara Diaz, showed off her epic ombre nails and filled us in on Daya’s Season 2 drama. She also tossed in a little surprise for her queer fans right at the end. Selenis Leyva (Gloria Mendoza) was wearing one of my favorite red carpet looks of the night, and was beyond sweet. p.s. she loves Ellen DeGeneres. Emma Myles, who plays one of Pennsatucky’s God Squad minions Leanne, was adorable and about to be your new crush. (Her eye makeup was to die for!) She also let us know we will be getting to know more about Leanne this season. (You may even catch a glimpse of Taryn Manning in the background. Taryn got whisked away into the event before we got a chance to chat with her. Pennsatucky!!!!!) Warning: This video contains some NSFW language. Grammy-winning country music star and straight ally Kacey Musgraves was one of the event’s special musical guests. She was dazzling in a magenta pink fringe dress, which would have made her pick for the AfterEllen Hot 100 proud. Watch to find out who. Fortune Feimster looked dashing in her pink bowtie and vest, and was wonderfully humble about being chosen to host the event. She gave AfterEllen a bit of intel on the new Tina Fey series Cabot College, which she is part of. The always-elegant Robin Weigert took time on the red carpet to give major props to her Concussion director Stacie Passon, as well as tell us about some of her upcoming projects.

If you were a fan of the sadly defunct show Pushing Daisies, then you will definitely want to check out our interview with legendary stage and screen actress (and lovely human being) Swoosie Kurtz. Sure, we love the ladies but let’s also hear it for the boys! I swooned a little when the fantastic actor/activist Wilson Cruz gave a shout out to the lesbians in the house. He also spoke very highly of GLAAD’s new CEO, Sara Kate Ellis. George Takei, who was being honored with the Vito Russo Award, and his husband Brad Altman stopped by our red carpet spot to be generally awesome and charming. Newly at the helm of GLAAD is Sarah Kate Ellis, who talked with us about the organization’s new three point focus. She was accompanied by her wife, Antigone Rising rocker, Kristen Ellis-Henderson. While I wasn’t able to talk to all of your favorites like Laverne Cox, Laura Prepon, and Samira Wiley, I can tell you that they are indeed affable and lovely ladies. Kylie Minogue, who later danced and sang on a table at the gala, was a mere two feet from me, giving interviews to the more gay male geared outlets. Alas, I was unable to ask if the video for “Sexercise” was a shout out to her lesbian fans. Laverne Cox was kind enough to take lots of selfies with fellow reporters, and yes, is as stunning as you imagine in real life. It was a magical night when fun and philanthropy mixed, and arts and community were celebrated. In what some would say in past years has tended to be to be a fairly gay male slanted event, there was a real feeling of lesbian and transgender inclusion, which we can only hope continues to grow and thrive.

Here are some of the dazzling red carpet looks at this year’s NYC GLAAD Media Awards. A special thank you to Chen Drachman who (wo)manned the camera for me. You can follow her on Twitter at @shokoshik.

For a complete list of award recipients, visit GLAAD.org.

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