GLAAD Says “Thanks” to Jay Leno For Supporting Same Sex Marriage
Jay Leno is officially back in the good graces of gay rights organization GLAAD after attending the “Vow to Vote” commitment ceremony benefiting Matthew Shepard’s “Erase Hate” campaign in West Hollywood, CA Wednesday.
In April The Tonight Show host, teased Ryan Phillippe for landing his first role as a gay teen on the soap One Life to Live. He also asked Phillippe to
give the camera his “gayest look.”
Leno later apologized for his derogatory remarks in a statement – but it was his appearance Wednesday night that impressed the organization.
“You stood alongside Judy Shepard and T.R. Knight, you spoke about your gay friends and co-workers, and how you’re supportive of their relationships and desire to marry,” Damon Romine, Director of Media Entertainment at GLAAD wrote in an open letter to Leno posted on GLAAD’s web site.
“As you told reporter Greg Hernandez: “‘What’s so funny to me is how people miss out on [realizing] the economic benefits just in terms of catering and flowers and planning. The services that come with it. . . The businesses that cater to [the LGBT community] do very well. So it just seems like common sense. Gas is four bucks a gallon. For me to worry about what Larry and Bob are doing seems sort of ridiculous.’”
Romine continued, “So, thank you, Jay, for lending your voice and showing your support.
When Ellen marries Portia and George Takei marries Brad, you’ll have an opportunity to have them on your couch to show the world that gay couples should have the same legal protections and responsibilities as everyone else. Or you could take a different path and make their ceremonies the subject of a monologue joke. I’m hoping for the former, but you might tell me that there’s room for both. Borrowing a line from you, we’ll “see what happens.”
Romine tells Usmagazine.com, “Straight allies like Jay can be some of the most effective and powerful voices in our struggle for fundamental freedoms.”
