Scandal star Kerry Washington took home the Vanguard Award at last night’s GLAAD Media Awards and gave a fiery speech in support of LGBT equality and visibility that would have had Olivia Pope herself raising a glass of red wine in support.

Of particular note was Washington’s point throughout the speech that marginalized communities should be working together as allies rather than competing against one another for a seat at the table:

So when black people today tell me that they don’t ‘believe’ in gay marriage (pause), the first thing that I say is please don’t let anybody try to get you to vote against your own best interests by feeding you messages of hate. And then I say, you know people used to say stuff like that about you and your love. And if we let the government start to legislate love in our lifetime, who do you think is next?

We can’t say that we believe in each others’ fundamental humanity and then turn a blind eye to the reality of each others existence and the truth of each others hearts. We must be allies. And we must be allies in this business because to be represented is to be humanized. And as long as anyone, anywhere is being made to feel less human, our very definition of humanity is at stake and we are all vulnerable.

Watch the full speech, AFTER THE JUMP…

During his guest appearance on Watch What Happens Live! this past week, Anderson Cooper switched things up and decided to grill host Andy Cohen on a series of questions for a special one-on-one interview before the two headed off to Boston over the weekend for their “unscripted, uncensored and unforgettable night of conversation.”

Questions the silver fox asked included:

Which star’s entourage has annoyed Cohen the most?
Does Cohen think AC’s giggles too much?
Has Cohen ever hooked up with someone in his office or in the WWHL Clubhouse?
Would Cohen rather have sex with Cher or Madonna?
Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama?

Find out Cohen’s answers, AFTER THE JUMP…

Augmented reality has long since been one of the most promising visions of the future presented by Silicon Valley. As cell phones have grown more powerful and wearable devices have become more ubiquitous, that vision has come increasingly closer to realization. In a new video originally meant to be screened at South By Southwest, Magic Leap, a company specializing in AR and backed by Google, shares a little bit of the software its been working on.

Most forms of AR–like Microsoft’s HoloLens–are a virtual overlays projected onto physical objects that can only be seen through a digital lens. Magic Leap’s take on the tech showcases a literal first person shooter game in which static physical objects become weapons that can be used to fight enemies in a video game.

Magic Leap also shows a few brief moments of interacting with e-mail as if it were a tangible thing and sending it with the flick of a wrist. It’s difficult to say just how close this concept video is to what Magic Leap may eventually bring to the consumer market, but the company’s PR director says that the Magic Leap team is playing a version of this game around the office right now.

Check it out, AFTER THE JUMP…

The other day we told you how Texas lawmakers have set a record this year for the most anti-LGBT bills in the history of any state. 

As it turns out, more pro-LGBT bills have also been filed in Texas than ever before, and one of them was heard in committee this week. 

House Bill 537 would allow same-sex parents to have both names on the birth certificates of adopted children, which currently can only include the name of the one female, the mother, and one male, the father. As a result, more than 9,000 adopted children in Texas who are being raised by same-sex parents don’t have accurate birth certificates. 

During Wednesday’s hearing, the bill found some unlikely support from a Republican, Rep. Byron Cook (above), who chairs the House Committee on State Affairs. Cook, who has an adopted child, smacked down a witness from the anti-LGBT hate group Texas Values. 

The Texas Observer reports: 

Julie Drenner (right), of Texas Values, claimed the bill would lead to threesomes adopting, affect all birth certificates and require the state to revise more than 20 forms.

But Rep. Byron Cook (R-Corsicana), chairman of the House Committee on State Affairs, told Drenner he was “struggling” with those arguments, and suggested that same-sex couples have been more willing to adopt special-needs children than “the traditional community.”

“That’s a terrible indictment on one group, to be honest with you,” Cook told Drenner. “In regards to your issue that you have to change the forms, so what? I really don’t understand that argument at all. Right now in Texas, we are struggling. We do not have enough parents who are willing to adopt. Thank goodness for people that will adopt children and give them loving homes.”

The bill’s author, Democratic Rep. Rafael Anchia, later noted that a fact-checking service found Texas Values’ claims about the bill to be “mostly false.”

Cook left the bill pending but plans to call it back up for a vote, saying the state owes it to the adopted children of same-sex parents to give them “peace of mind.” 

Watch Cook’s smackdown of Drenner, AFTER THE JUMP … 

This weekly travel column is brought to you by ManAboutWorld, an immersive digital premium gay travel magazine from Billy Kolber, Ed Salvato, Kenny Porpora, and nearly 75 Global Correspondents.

ManAboutWorld examined the gay-friendliness of the cruise industry by polling all major cruise companies. The cruise industry hasn’t always had a great relationship with gay cruisers. When RSVP Vacations first started chartering ships 30 years ago, most lines wouldn’t even allow a gay group. Today, most lines are actively welcoming, if not marketing directly to LGBT customers. But when it comes to policies that actively engage LGBT customers and protect LGBT employees and guests, the lines in general, are not as far along as you’d think, and in general, reluctant to discuss it. 

Some cruise lines do much better than others. For example MSC Cruises has just launched a wedding program for lesbian and gay couples, performing legal same-sex weddings in Miami, and symbolic weddings in select other ports. Others aren’t so enthusiastic about their LGBT guests, providing vague responses about ‘welcoming everyone.’  And five major lines (Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Silversea Cruises and Windstar Cruises) haven’t yet responded to numerous requests for over two months. It’s even harder to understand when taking into account that some of them, including Windstar, offer full-ship charters to gay cruise operators. 

We don’t have enough responses to fairly grade the individual lines this year, but we’re reporting the responses we did receive. We believe their answers should matter to all of us as gay consumers, and urge you to join the conversation. See the full article with the cruise lines’ responses in the March issue of ManAboutWorld or on ManAboutWorld.com. Be sure to tell us about your cruising experiences: the good, the bad and even the NSFW in the comments section in our blog.

We want to make the straight high seas a safer and more fun place for gay cruisers so we propose the following set of LGBT-friendly criteria for cruise lines. 

• LGBT employees should be covered by a non-discrimination policy that explicitly mentions sexual orientation and gender expression.
• Customer-facing employees should have diversity/inclusion training that specifically covers LGBT guests.
• Cruise lines docking in ports where homosexuality or gender expression are criminalized should provide all passengers notice about such laws before disembarkation in those ports.

In addition to these minimum standards, we believe marketing and outreach to LGBT consumers, membership in the IGLTA and promotion of LGBT gatherings in daily cruise calendars are important indicators of a cruise line’s commitment to LGBT customers, not just commerce. How will cruise lines react to our criteria? We’ll hold them accountable and report back in a year. 

ManAboutWorld offers opinionated travel information and inspiration in over 100 destinations around the world: Get ManAboutWorld Magazine on iTunes (iOS) or Google Play (Android). 

Image credits: Top: Craig Smith, Source Events; Right: John O’Connor, Tropics Magazine; Bottom: Steven Bereznai

Earlier this week, beloved pop star and American Idol Kelly Clarkson delivered a powerful performance of “Give Me One Reason,” originally performed by folk singer Tracy Chapman. And, while Kelly is adored by legions of fans gay and straight, Chapman has earned her spot as a legendary singer, songwriter and activist.

Growing up amidst racial tension in Cleveland’s recently integrated schools, Chapman’s interest in social activism was stoked at an early age. She grew up in a working-class household, raised by her mother, but received a scholarship to attend a private school and then graduated from Tufts University. She described her educational experience to The Guardian in 2008:

“The city had been forced to integrate the schools so they were bussing black children into white neighborhoods, and white children into black neighborhoods, and people were upset about it so there were race riots. A lot of kids spent more time out of school than in, but I always loved school and thought it was my way out of Cleveland, and out of poverty.”

While Chapman has been steadfast about keeping her personal and professional life separate, she did have a romantic relationship with author Alice Walker in the 1990s, which Walker discussed with The Guardian in 2013. As a socially-conscious artist, Chapman has been an advocate for LGBT rights and AIDS-research, among other human rights issues.

Relive some of our favorite Tracy Chapman performances, AFTER THE JUMP …

 
On June 11, 1988, Chapman was one of many performers at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at Wembley Stadium. It was a truly star-making turn for the young performer. Stevie Wonder was slated to perform later in the show, but when some of his equipment was missing, he had to postpone his set, sending producers into a scramble. They brought Chapman back out for a second appearance on the massive broadcast shown to 67 countries and 600 million viewers. Before the event, Chapman had sold 250,000 records, but in the two weeks following, she sold two million.

 
Chapman’s 1988 self-titled debut featured one of her most enduring hits to date, the gorgeous escape fantasy, “Fast Car.” The track peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Rolling Stone ranked it at 167 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time in 2010.

  
One of the organizations Chapman has supported throughout her career is Amnesty International. “I’m approached by lots of organizations and lots of people who want me to support their various charitable efforts in some way,” she told NPR in 2009. “And I look at those requests and I basically try to do what I can. And I have certain interest of my own, generally an interest in human rights, so that’s partly why I’ve supported Amnesty International for all these years.” She built a devoted international audience during the 1988 Amnesty International Human Rights Now! Tour. You can see her perform “Why” on the tour in the clip above.

 
One of Chapman’s politically-charged songs is “Talkin’ Bout A Revolution.” The dynamic tune includes lyrics like “Don’t you know, they’re talkin’ ’bout a revolution/It sounds like a whisper/While they’re standing in the welfare lines/Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation/Wasting time, in the unemployment lines/Sitting around, waiting for a promotion.”

 
Her biggest hit ever is “Give Me One Reason,” which hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It earned her a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.

What’s your favorite Tracy Chapman track?